Opposites Attract
by flowerinthedistance
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger - two polar opposite students with an infamous rivalry, forced together by a scheming head-teacher's plan to improve the boy's behaviour. AU fanfic in which the Dramione pairing is brought into the real world. No magic, no Hogwarts so slightly OOC. Enjoy! (NOW COMPLETE)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello anyone and everyone who's reading this! This is my first ever fanfiction so thank you so much for choosing to take a look :) This story follows probably my favourite pairing from HP - Dramione. This is a bit of a slow start but I promise it will pick up. Please review (any feedback is welcome). I really hope you enjoy!  
JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and all the characters etc, not me!**

* * *

It was an exceptionally grim day, in Draco Malfoy's opinion. On the way to school the ground had been damp from the overnight downpour and the sky was the ugly grey that only British skies can attain. The clouds weren't pleasantly fluffy and faultlessly white but distorted, licking at the horizon like wisps of dull, silver flame. Fitting weather for a Monday, Draco concluded.

The skinny, pale, light-blonde haired boy of around sixteen sat in the Physics classroom, ceaselessly staring at the clock. The long fingers of his left hand drummed on his jaw as his head sat in the palm. The other hand twiddled a pen subconsciously. He counted down the minutes until next lesson, stealing glances at his best friend on the other side of the room. Occasionally he would catch his eye and the well-known grimace of Blaise Zabini shot across the class. Then Draco would return to looking at the clock above the teacher's head.

This process had been going on for the majority of the lesson. In fact, Draco was just enjoying the view of seven minutes remaining, when a sharper-than-necessary nudge came from his lab partner. He turned his head slowly, menacingly, in her direction and raised both eyebrows, hissing, "What, Granger?" She didn't reply, unless you count a frustrated huff as a reply. Her eyes trained back onto the teacher, causing Draco's eyes to do the same. A terrifying sight met him.

The physics teacher was glaring down at him, her lips thin and her eyes furious. When she spoke, however, she managed to keep her voice even.

"Well, Draco? Are you contemplating some stunning answer to blow me away or would you like me to repeat the question?" She queried sarcastically. On closer inspection, Draco noted she was shaking very slightly, like the anger was quite literally bouncing around inside her.

"You thought I would actually be listening? Please." He let out a short laugh. He thought he heard another small huff from his neighbour, but ignored it.

"Do not try your cheek with me, Mr. Malfoy. You may think, after five years in this school, that you can bad-mouth any teacher you like, but you are entirely mistaken. You, of all people, have the least authority to do that. You definitely haven't earned it and you most likely never will at the rate you're going." She paused and looked away from the defeated teen, who slouched back in his chair, a scowl interrupting his somewhat handsome features. "This is the year that could determine the rest of your life," she addressed the whole class, "if you choose to act like this buffoon of a boy," she gestured towards Draco "you will have no future. This is the time to get your heads in gear. You may go." As she ended the bell went for change of lesson.

Even as Draco threw his books into his bag he could feel Granger's heated glare on the back of his head.

"Don't you dare even _look_ at me, you bush-headed piece of filth!" Draco spat. Hermione showed no slight indication of having taken offence, no recognition of even being spoken to, actually. She was used to this treatment. She knew exactly how to treat scum like Malfoy in return.

After five years of being known for her brains and books, Hermione Granger had had her fair share of abuse. But, like everything in life, she knew she could learn from it. So instead of going home and crying over it, when the bullies snapped at her, she snapped back. With her witty comebacks and intellectual mind she usually left them wondering what exactly she had called them. All except for one.

In Draco Malfoy, she had found her nemesis.

He was smart, inconceivably smart if you judged by his usual behaviour, and knew just how to get on Hermione's nerves. But, then again, she knew exactly how to get on his nerves too. Their mutual hatred was common knowledge in the year, if not the school. They could interpret each other's moods in an instant. If they didn't hate each other, some would say they knew each other better than their best friends.

So now, she knew it was best for her to completely ignore him. He was angry, humiliated and trying to take it out on somebody. Hermione was a lot of things, but a punch bag was not one of them. Calmly, collectedly, she walked away.

Draco left the classroom into the corridor, fuming. There were bodies everywhere, pushing to get to the stairs, running and ducking in between the crowds, hanging around in the corners. But one stood out to Draco. The mane of curly brown hair bobbed towards two other figures in the mass of students. Boy, did he hate Granger. How dare she ignore him completely? She had no right to act so superiorly, to speak so matter-of-factly, to walk away like she wasn't bothered. Everything about her made him bristle with frustration and hatred.

"No matter how hard you stare, she won't disappear. Sorry to disappoint." Blaise broke him out of his silent rant after following his eyes.

"Yeah, I know." He replied, with a final sigh, before heading off for the changing rooms. Now _this_ was one lesson he liked. Sports.

* * *

"'Mione, are you alright?" Harry asked her when she huffed for the thousandth time. Ron looked over as if only just noticing something was wrong.

"Yeah." They both raised an eyebrow. She laughed. They knew her so well. "Malfoy, that's all."

"I will _kill_ him one day." Ron vowed angrily.

"Not if I do it first." Hermione replied darkly. "It might come to that, seeing as I have every lesson with him."

"Except this one, remember." Ron offered helpfully as they arrived at the changing rooms. Hermione just nodded, thinking of the Sports lesson ahead of her.

"It is just rotten luck." Harry said, shaking his head sympathetically. Both the boys waved briefly and then disappeared into the smell of sweat and sound of aggressive shouts. Hermione sighed and entered the other changing room which, fortunately, smelled much less of sweat and was filled only with the overly endearing voices of teenage girls.

* * *

Emerging from the changing rooms, clad in the school's compulsory sports gear, Draco Malfoy grinned – an unusual sight, especially when in close proximity to the school building. Almost immediately, he was joined by Blaise, along with two if his other friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They looked brutish and threatening but were easily outsmarted, seeming to have only one brain between the both of them (perhaps that was why one was never seen without the other). The four of them proceeded towards the sports field, staring down their classmates as they swaggered past.

As he advanced, Draco spotted Potter and the Weasel chatting glumly on a bench. _This should be fun,_ he thought, turning in their direction, flanked by the other three. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were Granger's best friends and almost as insufferable as her, according to Draco. Somehow, though, they managed to be two of the most popular students in the year and, even more infuriatingly, were reasonably good students.

They seemed to notice him coming instinctively, as both had experienced Draco's treatment countless times since their first year. They stood in unison and turned towards him. Potter's green eyes blazed with silent anger, his jet-black hair sticking up as usual. Weasley's freckles clashed brilliantly with the shade of pink his cheeks had turned.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Weasel spat.

"Well, hello to you too, Weasel," Draco replied dryly. "Missing your girlfriend? How is Granger anyway?" Ron's ears went bright red and Harry had to grab his arm to stop him launching himself onto the blonde.

"You – leave – her – alone!" he struggled unsuccessfully.

"What on earth is this?" Hermione cried, standing between Draco and Ron, facing her best friends. "Ron, for goodness sake, calm down!" Ron relaxed and shook himself down, his eyes throwing daggers at Malfoy. Hermione surveyed the situation and then rounded on Malfoy, waiting for an explanation.

"We were just discussing whether Weasel here is ugly enough for you, Granger," he sneered.

"Congratulations," came the calm reply from the brunette, "you have just proved yourself to be a new kind of immature. How pathetic can you get? Listen here, you vile specimen," she held up her finger dangerously close to his face, "you can bully, sneer and humiliate me as much as you want but NEVER" she poked the finger closer to him "come near my friends again." Hermione lowered her hand, fuming, and trying extremely hard not lash out. Draco took a step back and laughed through his nose.

"Come on," he addressed his friends, "let's leave the Tragic Trio to their business." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled and turned away. Blaise waited for Draco to pass him before he turned around, glaring at the girl in the meantime.

The remainder of the lesson was spent jogging around the sports field. From time to time, Draco glared towards the girls' group in a bout of fury. Now and then, Hermione looked over to the boys' group to check on her friends. Miraculously, their eyes never met.

* * *

Slowly but surely, the day was becoming torturous. For Draco, the minutes lagged behind more the further he got through the day. It seemed the world was out to get him, or at least Granger was. She was managing to be increasingly irritating today, which was pretty impressive seeing as Draco was always fuming as soon as he saw her. Fate seemed to be dangling him off a cliff, waiting for one last thing to tip him over. Then, in a stuffy maths lesson before lunch, that thing came.

Draco had contracted a severe headache as he ran through the morning's arguments with Granger, completely ignoring the mathematical problems on the board. Another stab of pain shot to his temple as Granger raised her hand and babbled the answer out once again.

"Can she not? I think I'm allergic to know-it-alls." Draco murmured while rubbing his temple. Blaise, who sat in front of him, laughed silently, his shoulders shaking, as two accusing brown eyes shot a disapproving look Draco's way. A knock at the door interrupted these events and the school secretary entered and spoke.

"The headmaster would like to see" she consulted her list, "Draco Malfoy."

* * *

 **Hope you like it so far. Chapter 2 will be up soon, as long as people don't hate it already!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again! Chapter 2 is here! I have a load of plans for this story which I look forward to writing. Enjoy this chapter, it's a bit longer than the first.  
** **Harry Potter is owned by the magical JK Rowling, who is, funnily enough, not me.**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _"Can she not? I think I'm allergic to know-it-alls." Draco murmured while rubbing his temple. Blaise, who sat in front of him, laughed silently, his shoulders shaking, as two accusing brown eyes shot a disapproving look Draco's way. A knock at the door interrupted these events and the school secretary entered and spoke._

 _"The headmaster would like to see" she consulted her list, "Draco Malfoy."_

* * *

Dragging himself through the deserted hallways, Draco racked his brains for a reason behind this sudden summoning. Coming up blank multiple times worried him more than he liked, however - not to mention the increased severity of the dull ache in his forehead – so he busied himself matching the _clip clop_ of the secretary's shoes with his own endless steps.

On reaching the head's office, Draco took a deep breath and knocked. The sound rung through the surrounding silence before he was permitted to enter.

"Ah, Draco," the head addressed him, "take a seat." He gestured toward an orange and plum-purple squishy chair beside his desk. Draco lowered himself into it, wishing it would engulf him slightly more than it did, preferably swallow him up completely. His leg bounced uncontrollably as he waited in tantalising anticipation.

"Relax dear boy, you are not in trouble." His shoulders dropped suddenly, although he was unaware of them being hunched initially.

"I assume, by this point, you are wondering why you are here." Draco nodded. "Well, you have been selected to take part in a project that hopes to improve your behaviour by, essentially, pairing you up with another student in your year.

"We have noticed that you, quite frankly, are one of the worst behaved students in your year. So, you would be accompanying this student everywhere: between lessons, at break and lunch, plus any lessons you have together. It would last a week, perhaps more if all goes well. The before mentioned student has shown exceptional academic attainment and general behaviour so far this year, so will hopefully have a positive effect on you," His eyes twinkled behind his spectacles and he smiled surprisingly genuinely at Draco. Draco sat, apprehensive, less than willing to be a part of this 'project'.

"All this, of course, depends on whether you comply. We will not force you to do anything," continued the head teacher, "would you like to know who your partner would be, should you accept?" Draco, who had been momentarily staring at a very interesting spot on his laces, looked up despite himself.

"Really? OK then," he said, before hurriedly adding, "Sir".

"Very well. You would be spending your week with Miss Hermione Granger – I believe you know of her?"

" _Know_ her?" Draco spluttered, outraged, " _know_ her? We despise each other! I can just about bear being in the same room as her, but being in her company for a week? I'm sorry sir, but I must decline – there is no way – I can't believe – it'd be impossible!" Draco searched for words heated enough to convey his complete opposition to the idea.

The head looked straight at the boy and said, "well, if your mind is made up, you may go." Draco rose, extremely aware that the look on the old man's face said this wasn't over. He made his way to the door and reached out a hand to open it. As if triggered by the touch of the boy's palm on the cold brass handle, the head teacher spoke for a final time.

"Be aware, Draco, your mother will hear of this little conversation." Though his tone was light and carefree, Draco heard the threat in his words. He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking of his mother's reaction, and then decided to push it to the back of his mind. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Goodbye sir," He exited the office without another look back.

Draco meandered around the school, unwilling to return to maths. There were only a few minutes left until lunch started, but if anyone saw him out of lessons he would be severely punished, so he walked in the vague direction of the canteen without going in. The whole time, his mind wouldn't stop racing angrily. It was bad enough being singled out and paired up with your worst enemy, but having his mother know about it? He tried desperately to think of ways to convince her that the project was not a good idea. He only ended up trying to think of ways to escape Granger for when his mum forces him to go through with it anyway.

The bell went and a defeated, dejected Draco Malfoy joined the hordes of students making their way into the canteen. He quickly claimed his group's usual table and took out a plain chicken sandwich. He sat there brooding without taking a bite, one hand tracing his initials which had been carved into the table in his second year. Blaise arrived first with Pansy Parkinson, his girlfriend, latched onto his arm. They sat, completely engrossed in each other while Crabbe, Goyle and a few others arrived too. Soon the table was alive with chat and raucous laughter. The only one who didn't join in was Malfoy.

"You alright mate?" Blaise muttered to him as the others laughed at Crabbe.

"I'm fine."

"Talk about it later?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe."

* * *

Double Geography dragged on as usual, and for a while it seemed to Draco like Monday would never end. It did, however, and Draco was finally free to go home. Almost.

"I do recall you have a detention with me Mr. Malfoy." His Physics teacher gestured to him with her finger and he made his way, against the tide of teenagers, to her.

"Yes, miss," he sighed.

"I shall keep you for five minutes. I daresay you have enough on your mind." She smiled knowingly and led him to her classroom.

Five minutes passed and Draco escaped through the automatic double doors that imprisoned him every day. Most of the kids had left by then, but there was still a steady stream of students making their way home. Draco looked round and saw with surprise that Blaise was leaning on the sun-faded wall to his left, staring down at his phone.

"Blaise! Where's Pansy?" Draco calls, knowing that Blaise and Pansy always walk home together.

"I told her I needed to talk to you," he began apprehensively, as if Draco were about to explode. The blonde opened his mouth to say that he was fine, but the other knew him too well, "you're not fine. I've known you all my life, Malfoy, do you think I can't tell when something's up? Hmm? Exactly." He nodded triumphantly when there was no answer. "So talk to me." Draco turned with his friend to walk home. Eventually, he relayed the whole conversation he had had before lunch. Once he had finished, Blaise was almost as annoyed as Draco had been.

"Nuh-uh. Nope. No way! That is so unfair. Hermione. _Bloody._ Granger." He exclaimed.

"She will be the death of me, I know it." Draco returned fervently.

"Surely you can appeal or something? I do not want you turning into _her_."

"And my mother knows," Draco interjected, irritated.

" _And_ your mother knows! This is appalling, I can't believe it – I won't believe it!" Blaise ranted, with extravagant hand gestures and facial expressions.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees it that way." Draco chuckled at his best friend. Blaise shoved him playfully with an elbow.

"How can you be laughing right now?"

"I've never seen you take something so seriously in your life, that's all." Draco looked at him, struggling to keep a straight face. Spontaneously, they both burst into loud guffaws of unstoppable laughter.

"We must be mad," Blaise said through laughs, "it's not that funny, really."

"Well, I wouldn't like to give _her_ the satisfaction of getting to me…" Draco sighed, wiping tears from his eyes.

They continued walking home in near silence, laughing and joking now and then. As well as being best friends, Draco and Blaise were near enough next-door neighbours, having only two houses in between them. When they reached their road, Draco bade the other boy goodbye and turned onto his drive.

His house stood before him, vast and dark. It was stunning, he couldn't deny, but it held too many memories for him. To Draco, it was empty, cold, without love. Everything a home shouldn't be. Stepping inside caused a different flashback every time, each as painful as the last. He put one foot into the porch and his eyes glassed over.

 **Flashback:**

 _A middle aged man, his platinum blonde sheet of hair hiding his face, storms through the ornate front door. He holds a trunk in one of his gloved hands and a cane in the other, a hissing snake adorned on the end.  
_ " _Narcissa, you're delusional! Think rationally for a minute." He says superiorly, turning back to a slight woman in the doorway. Her eyes are red with tears, but they blaze furiously with his words.  
_ " _Don't talk to_ me _about rationality! How can you! Just leave, Lucius." Her tears spill over again and she turns her head as the man gets into one of the two sleek black cars on the drive. With a swirl of a coat he has disappeared from view, and soon enough the car speeds down the road.  
_ " _Just go." The woman murmurs as she takes one last look at the car.  
_ " _I'm still here, mother." A boy in his early teens sits on the stairs, the shine in his eyes giving away the sadness behind the encouraging smile. He tries hard to give his mother a look of comfort.  
_ " _YOU'RE NOT ENOUGH!" she screams in reply, the sharp shards of her broken heart sounding in every syllable.  
_ _And the door slams._

 **(End Flashback)**

Draco sighed sadly and took out his phone. With the recipient set to 'Blaise' he quickly typed:

 _Thanks for putting up with me mate, you actually have made me feel better somehow. Wish me luck with mother._

The reply came almost instantly:

 _It's a pleasure, as always_ (Draco could practically see Blaise's sarcastic look) _and you gave me a good laugh._

 _You think luck's going to help you now? Rather you than me. Keep me updated though._

Draco snorted at his friend's levels of encouragement and unlocked his front door. Opening it, he shouted: "Mother? It's me."

"Draco, honey? Come in here." She called back from where he knew was the living room. After dumping his bag down by the stairs he moved to her voice.

Narcissa Malfoy sat, legs crossed elegantly, drinking a cup of coffee. She wore a simple but sleek black dress, the long sleeves velvety and the neckline high. She nodded towards the dark leather sofa next to her, identical to the chair she sat in. Draco sat silently, waiting for a lecture. Placing her mug on the glass coffee table in front of her, she began speaking.

"Three years ago, when your father left, I swore I would never hurt you the way he did." Her voice didn't tremble - she spoke evenly, but sadly. She gazed wistfully into space, her eyes unfocused. "I want to give you every chance to do well. Why do you make it so hard for me?" she looked him straight in the eyes suddenly and Draco had to push down the lump in his throat.

"Because I'm not enough." He replied simply.

"Draco, you are a better person than your father or I could ever be. When I said those words I was broken, I didn't mean them. All I wanted was your father back, I wanted the Lucius Malfoy I had married. The one I had fallen in love with. Draco, I'm so sorry."

"It's-it's OK. I forgive you," Draco stuttered, shocked to see his mother tearing up before his eyes. For the past three years, she had gone through life an emotionless, hollow shell of a person.

"Please, for me, go through with your headmaster's plans. Just this once." Draco nodded reluctantly and stood up, adamant not to cry. His mother rose too and, before he could walk away, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. After recovering from the initial shock, Draco hugged her back, holding her protectively and finally letting the tears fall freely. She drew back and rested a hand on his cheek, looking up at him.

"I love you very much, Draco Lucius Malfoy, and I am endlessly proud of the man you have become. Always remember that." She said. She left the room and Draco went to the bathroom, splashed his face with cold water, and then made his way to his bedroom, already starting to dread the next day.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please review - I appreciate any comments and, you never know, the next chapter might be up sooner if I get inundated with reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi again! This third chapter is a bit shorter than the rest but I really wanted to end it somewhere poignant and this is what happened. Unfortunately I won't be able to update as regularly anymore as I'm going back to school but hopefully there will be at least 2 updates a week. But for now, here is chapter 3.  
I don't own anything.**

* * *

Last chapter:

 _"I love you very much, Draco Lucius Malfoy, and I am endlessly proud of the man you have become. Always remember that." She said._

* * *

 _Sorry Blaise. We're gonna have Granger hanging around us for a week._

The text had barely left when the reply came:

 _Gotta be honest, I'm not surprised. I'm sure we'll survive. I'm more worried about her friends than ours._

Draco hadn't thought of that. He would have to put up with not only Granger but her two irritating buddies. As if the situation could have got any worse.

 _Urgh. Thanks mate, I hadn't thought about that._

Draco waited a few minutes for the answer.

 _You would have realised sometime. Hey, are you coming to the party on Thursday, y'know, for my birthday?_

He typed quickly:

 _Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world. Gotta go, my phone's going to die. See you tomorrow._

Sure enough, just as the message was sent the screen went black and Draco ran downstairs to plug it into the charger.

A few hours later, Draco was sat at the dinner table, eating. This room was as grand as every other in the house, the table itself meant to hold eight people but currently holding two. Draco's mother was opposite him, every sign of their previous conversation wiped from her face other than a small smile that she only wore very often. With this taking over her appearance, it was easy to tell where Draco got his good looks from.

"Tell me about school Draco." She suggested, taking a forkful of food.

"Umm," Draco said awkwardly, not sure what there was to talk about. "Well, Blaise and Pansy are going out, which is… weird." His mother looked pleasantly surprised.

"Our Blaise?"

"Yes, mother, _our_ Blaise. What other Blaise is there?"

"That is so sweet!"

"It really isn't. It's rather disgusting actually" Draco grimaced, recollecting how the couple had taken to spontaneous make-out sessions during breaks.

"No! That's lovely. You've known them for so long and now this!" She smiled as if it really pleased her.

"If you say so." Draco replied unsurely, but he smiled too to see how much joy it brought her. They ate in silence for a little longer then, out of the blue:

"When are you going to get a girlfriend, Draco?" Draco nearly spat out the mouthful of food he was chewing. He swallowed it hastily.

"How can you ask that? I don't _need_ a girlfriend, mum!" he cried. Unknown to Mrs. Malfoy, Draco had had a few of what people would call 'girlfriends'. He had never liked any of them though, and it was all to keep up his reputation.

"Sorry, dear. But I'm sure some of the girls in your year wouldn't mind you," her tone was completely unaffected, as if she were talking about the local news.

"Thanks," he said dryly, thinking of the gaggle of girls that tail him at school.

"I'm serious, Draco, isn't there a spring ball coming up? Who will you take to that?"

"Probably no-one. I don't dance anyway." Draco reminded her.

"All I'm saying is keep an eye out." She raised an eyebrow threateningly.

"Yeah, ok, whatever," Draco said, holding his hands up and hurriedly finishing the last of his food. As soon as he was done, he practically scrambled up and out of the room, desperate to escape the interrogation.

"Goodnight, Draco." His mother called after him. It was strange - he contemplated in his room - that she'd only just got back on terms with him and she was already asking about his love life. _That's mothers for you, I suppose,_ he reasoned. It was pretty late, and he decided to get some sleep, knowing tomorrow would be a struggle.

That night, he dreamed he was dancing with a faceless woman. She stopped and the image swam before his eyes. Soon, she had transformed into Granger. She spoke in Blaise's voice: "I don't want you turning into _her_." It was only when he reached out a hand to see if she was real, and the girl raised an arm simultaneously, that he realised she was his reflection.

He awoke struggling in the sheets of his double bed. He swung his legs out onto the dark, plush carpet and strode over to the body-length mirror on the wall. He clicked on a small lamp on the cabinet beside him and breathed out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding. Because he saw platinum blond hair, not brunette waves. Because he was looking into silvery blue orbs, not brown ones.

Because he wasn't, and never would be, like Granger.

* * *

 **Like I said, it's not much. Next chapter things will pick up a lot I hope. I'd love to see any reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello anyone and everyone! This is Chapter 4, in which Hermione _finally_ gets involved in the story a bit more. I know, about time too. Harry Potter's not mine. **

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _He clicked on a small lamp on the cabinet beside him and breathed out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding. Because he saw platinum blond hair, not brunette waves. Because he was looking into silvery blue orbs, not brown ones._

 _Because he wasn't, and never would be, like Granger._

* * *

 _Knock, knock, knock._ Draco lowered his hand and cracked his knuckles nervously. On an ordinary day, he would do his best to avoid this particular room. But today was not going to be a normal day, and nor was the rest of week if he went through with what he was about to do. And he had to go through with it. He had promised, after all.

"Enter," the calm voice called through the door. "Draco, this is a surprise!" the head teacher said, swivelling around in his chair and seeing the boy standing in the entrance. "I did not expect to see you again." His eyes twinkled, making Draco feel extremely patronised.

"My mother has convinced me that your plans are 'for my own good', sir." _As I'm sure you intended,_ he added in his head.

"So you will go along with the project?" he persisted.

"Yes, sir." Draco returned through gritted teeth.

"Splendid," the man said, stroking his beard as if he this was what he expected all along. "Send Miss Granger down to me please, Draco." Draco rolled his eyes exasperatedly and left the room.

* * *

Seeking out Granger was easier than he suspected. He bumped into her – quite literally – outside the library as she struggled under the weight of multiple books, each the thickness of an encyclopaedia. Draco had seen her coming, but before he could say anything she had walked straight into him and the books fell, individually landing with dull thuds. She bent down, flustered, with her hair in her face.

"I am _so_ sorry… should have been looking where I was going… sorry... wasn't concentrating…" Draco caught snatches of her babbling apology as she collected up her books. She pushed her thick mass of hair away from her face and looked up.

"Oh, it's you." She spat unpleasantly.

"Still sorry?" Draco already knew the answer.

"Not in the slightest. Why are you still here?" She stood and crossed her arms over her books.

"I only came to say," Draco paused dramatically, "the head wants to see you." The girl tensed at his words at her brow furrowed.

"You're not serious." She concluded after a moment's thought. "You're trying to trick me."

"Are you kidding!? I seek you out – you of all people – to pass on a message and you ask if I'm serious? Are you telling me you think I would do that just for a joke?" Granger looked mildly taken aback at his anger. He could see in her eyes the struggle to trust him.

"I'll go. I guess I should thank you, but I'd hate to be on the moral high ground." She smiled sweetly and walked straight passed him, leaving a disbelieving Draco to the returning dread of the remainder of the week. He was still none the wiser as to how he would put up with her.

* * *

While walking to Drama, Draco hung back, feeling as if he was way too early. All too soon, he felt a figure by his side and it sniffed as if unsatisfied.

"Malfoy." It said stiffly. Draco inclined his head slightly and saw a white-faced Hermione Granger out the corner of his eye.

"Granger." He replied, needing no more confirmation that she had been informed about 'everything'. They kept the silence up diligently through the corridors and into the lesson, walking together while both wishing they were doing anything but walking together.

Gradually, throughout the lesson, Hermione realised that, although Malfoy had voluntarily got himself into this situation, he had no intention of being at all cooperative. Not a word was spoken by him for the whole lesson and so not a word was spoken by her. As the lesson ended, her pent up anger and frustration was ready to burst forth and, of course, it was directed at Malfoy.

Draco could see that Granger was angry – it didn't take much attention to tell. He braced himself for an attack as he left the class, and sure enough she came striding after him.

"Stop! _Stop._ " She said until he turned to face her, staring down at her impassively. "You got yourself into this mess you know. You had a choice. I was just expected to comply because you had already! I don't care if you get nothing out of this week, but that doesn't mean you ignore me completely. Think of someone else for once Malfoy – I'll be in a foul enough mood this week without you acting like a 10 year-old and giving me the silent treatment. Besides, I never did anything to you to deserve the attitude you give, it's always been you and your stupid prejudices."

"Don't flatter yourself into thinking I would _choose_ to spend four miserable days in your presence," Draco sneered in return after a short pause. "For your information, I denied the offer at first, irrefutably. It was only when the head got my dear mother involved that I 'changed my mind'. I'm so sorry this week isn't going as you intended, Granger, but there's already a queue to _join the club_." The girl shook her head, her hazel eyes narrowed.

"We're going to be late." This was all she said, though it was obvious to both that there was more on her mind.

* * *

The day continued in much the same way. Bored of not talking, Draco eased up slightly with Granger (which certainly had _nothing_ to do with her little speech), though any conversation ended in a disagreement of some kind. The details of the project were, quite embarrassingly, revealed to the whole year in an assembly after lunch. Many sympathetic looks were given in both Draco's direction and his rival's.

As the end of the day drew nearer, Draco felt suffocated. There was no better way to describe the feeling, like being pressed up against on all sides, pressured, trapped, exhausted. When he saw the doors of the school open he could breathe again freely, without the world watching his every move. Overnight, it was like he had become a feature in a museum, for anyone and everyone to stare and whisper shamelessly. His lighter mood dropped significantly when he got home.

He had left his phone at home after forgetting to unplug it from his charger. When he returned to his dimly lit hallway there was a message waiting for him that made him sigh deeply. It had been sent the evening before by Blaise.

 _Good, I'm glad you can make it. Just to let you know, I've told Crabbe and Goyle not to let you in unless you have a date. Sorry, but you're way too lonely nowadays._

Draco replied angrily.

 _What the hell Blaise! Why would you tell me NOW?_

When the next message arrived, Draco slammed his phone back down.

 _It's for your own good. Trust me on this one._

What was it with everyone and their plans? Why did it seem like the last person to find out about anything was him? Draco had no idea, but he wanted an end to it all, sooner rather than later.

* * *

 **Poor Draco. He's not having the best of weeks, is he? I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who has reviewed/followed so far - it's totally surreal to see the positive comments I'm getting, thank you. Keep the feedback coming, I don't mind if it's praise or constructive criticism, anything is helpful to me. See ya!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Helloooo! I wrote this chapter very quickly so that I could start working on the next one as soon as possible, which should be an exciting one. Hope you're all enjoying it so far. Here's CHAPTER 5 (?!)  
** **Not even a fraction of HP is mine.**

* * *

Draco coughed awkwardly at the figure with her back to him. When this failed to grasp her attention, he finally spoke.

"Good morning, Granger." The stiffness of his tone was second nature, but he was surprised to find that yesterday's reluctance had to be consciously forced into his words. The girl turned slowly, already aware as to who the voice belonged to. She nodded slightly and, without another a word, they advanced from the reception desk towards the heart of the school.

They had agreed to meet in this way each morning, both admitting it would be simpler to have a designated spot than roam around the school trying to find each other.

"I would like to go and see Harry and Ron." Granger stated, the absence of her friends clearly getting to her. Draco's face conveyed his feelings toward the idea better than any words could have.

"Oh, come on! It's for a few minutes and you don't even have to talk to them. Are you three seriously so pathetic-"

"Fine, fine! Anything to shut you up." Draco conceded, mainly because he wasn't pathetic, and being called it bothered him.

"Thank you." She huffed pointedly and he followed her through the gradually filling corridors.

She evidently knew where she was going, as a minute or two later a shout from a male voice caught her attention. Potter and Weasley came towards them, both beaming like idiots. Granger hugged them and swiftly began chatting to them avidly.

Draco leaned back against a wall, picking at his fingernails. He didn't, however, fail to pay attention to the reunion happening in front of him, anticipating his mention in the conversation, which soon came.

"Is he giving you hell?" The Weasel murmured, nodding his head towards Draco, but not removing his eyes from the girl's face. Draco snorted with suppressed laughter, partly because of how obvious it was that Weasley was talking about him, and partly because of how blatantly smitten the guy was with Granger. The ginger couldn't keep his eyes off the girl, and they lit up in a weird sparkly way (which Draco found pretty creepy) whenever she spoke to him. Draco looked on this with contempt but also slight pity. Despite what he had said a few days ago, and however little he liked to say it, Granger was way too good for the little Weasel, and Draco was pretty certain she would never see him as more than a friend.

"It's been fine." Granger answered, a little half-heartedly.

"It's not been fine, has it? What's he done?" Weasley raised his voice, frustrated. He turned on Draco suddenly.

"You'd better stop this, Malfoy. If I hear you've done _anything_ to her, I'll – I'll..." Draco pushed himself off the wall and over to the aggravated boy.

"You'll what, Weasley?" he drawled, drawing himself up threateningly. Weasley opened his mouth to retort but Granger cut him off.

"Back off, Ron." She ordered, surprising the whole party. "Why do you jump to the conclusion that he's done something? Malfoy hasn't done a thing, actually, so leave him out of this." She crossed her arms indignantly as Weasley (not to mention the other two) stared at her, astounded.

"How can you be on his side right now? After all he's done to you, you're going to go against me? Whatever, Hermione, I get it. We're going." He turned to leave and Potter stepped to follow him, but thought twice and turned to address Granger.

"Harry, I-" she began apologetically.

"It's fine, Hermione, I'm really not bothered." He smiled to prove he took no offence. "He'll come round. Don't worry." He added finally, referring to Weasley. Before he left, he nodded at Draco as if he was unsure what he was doing. "If Hermione's decided to give you a second chance, then I will too." Draco was also slightly confused by the whole situation, but nodded in return nevertheless.

" _Are_ you giving me a 'second chance'?" Draco asked when both boys had disappeared from sight.

"Let's just say I'm bored of fighting with you and we should call it quits. What d'you think?" she suggested lightly.

"I think you've gone mad, quite frankly. But whatever you do, I do better – so alright." Draco teased.

"Ok, well, you owe me one anyway, for sticking up for you back there.

"No way." Draco objected reproachfully. "I could've dealt with it, stepping in was your choice."

"If what you were doing was 'dealing with it' then you weren't doing a great job, you ungrateful idiot!" she said this laughingly as they walked to their first lesson, the bell having just rung. "Besides, what's so bad about owing me?" she challenged.

"Because I might have to ask you a massive favour," Draco said, in a moment of desperate genius.

"What is it?" Granger asked cautiously.

"Well, tomorrow is Blaise's birthday…" Draco began, already expecting rejection.

"Skip to the part that involves me, Malfoy," she pushed impatiently.

"Blaise won't let me in without a date and, well, I don't have one." He stated bluntly. "I can't miss it – he's my best mate, and he's going to be sixteen. So, if you'd just walk in with me, then you can do whatever the hell you want, even go home if you must." Draco offered, as close to begging as he'd ever been.

"Calm down, it's fine, I'll do it. I was already coming anyway, just with Harry and Ron." She said

"You will? Wait, you were?"

"Yeah. Blaise invited the whole year." She revealed casually, as if it were nothing. _Of course he did,_ thought Draco.

" _Now_ I owe you." Draco said, finally feeling relieved.

"You're welcome." Granger replied, rolling her eyes, knowing that that was all the thanks she was going to get.

* * *

 **So they finally got over their differences, at Ron's expense, and Draco can still go to Blaise's party. I'll probably skip straight to that for next chapter. Let me know what you think in a review, I love seeing your comments! See you next time :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello, I'm back with Chapter 6! Author's notes are surprisingly hard to write, actually. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Wednesday merged into Thursday fluidly, passing like a cool breeze. Hermione found she became increasingly nervous as Thursday evening, the night of the party, loomed ever closer.

When she was first invited to the party, a few weeks before, Ginny Weasley (Ron's youngest sibling and only sister) had jumped on the opportunity of aiding Hermione in the preparation for the event. To Hermione, this meant sitting around doing as she was told while the girl worked her magic. Ginny, though inferior in age and maturity, had established a reputation with Hermione of being a great deal more skilled in the field of fashion. So the idea suited her, and drastically decreased the chances of looking a wreck when she came out the other side. Therefore, when Hermione opened her front door a few hours before she was due to leave, the fiery red-head bustled in, weighed down with a large bag full of all manner of implements, most of which looked like torture mechanisms to Hermione.

Almost immediately they proceeded, Hermione following orders dutifully, Ginny working frantically despite the 3 hours she had to work with, and the fact the outfit was already organised. She hadn't even left that to Hermione, as it turned out that that was the reason the bag was practically overflowing – Ginny had brought along a dress that she knew was perfect for her slightly older friend. Mysteriously, before beginning she ensured all the mirrors in Hermione's room were covered. When asked why, she replied:

"I want it to be a surprise for you, as well as him." Hermione had relayed everything from the day before to Ginny, which had increased her willingness (if that was possible) to make Hermione look like a goddess. After all, you couldn't look just OK with _him_ as a date, even if it was all a farce.

After much plucking, blending, pulling, combing, shading and straightening later, Ginny stood back to admire her work with a smug look. Hermione was itching with anticipation, practically jumping up and down with nerves.

"Can I see now, please? Malfoy will be here in half an hour." She whined.

"Nuh-uh. As much as I want you to admire my work, the mirror in the hallway will be the first you see, and I will only let you out when Malfoy gets here." She smiled evilly. Hermione stuck her tongue out childishly but consoled herself to her own mischief.

"So, how's things with you and Harry?" she gave an exaggerated wink, and laughing as the face opposite her flushed.

"Non-existent would be a good way to describe it, really." Ginny said glumly. "He doesn't like me, 'Mione, it's obvious." Hermione gave a disbelieving look to her crestfallen friend.

"You must be blind, both of you. How on earth are you missing what I see?" Before she could continue the ring of a doorbell caught their attention. Ginny practically sprinted from the room, eager to escape further embarrassment and leaving her friend to try and calm herself. Hermione could feel her heart pounding in every inch of her body, it seemed to reverberate through the silence of her bedroom as she listened to the newcomer enter.

"Why are you here?" Malfoy's voice, drifting up to her bedroom from the hallway, confirmed her suspicions and she busied herself by picking up her clutch bag and putting on the strappy high heels Ginny had picked out, both of which were the same midnight blue as the dress she was wearing.

"It's you, good, Hermione's upstairs." Ginny fussed, completely ignoring the question. "HERMIONE!" she shouted up the stairs.

"I'm coming!" Hermione chimed back, keeping her voice steady by some miracle. She took the first step down the stairs and then another. Each one added to the butterflies in her stomach. When she reached the bottom, she observed the two people before her. Ginny was beaming with a sisterly pride, hands clasped and face lit up with elation. Malfoy looked like he was trying very hard to suppress great shock, but there was a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Hermione moved deliberately to the familiar mirror on the wall. She gasped with delight and surprise at what she saw.

Standing elegantly opposite her was a different being than had entered the bedroom a few hours before.

Her hair was expertly placed in a neat but natural halo braid, wisps of baby hair having been straightened and directed to give a messier look. She was wearing a simple dress, a deep blue-black, with sturdy lace covering her upper chest from just below the collar-bone to the base of her neck. A soft, thicker material made up the rest, gathered at the waist and falling meticulously to just above the knee. She had a chunky gold bracelet consisting of square chain links encircling her hand, which matched the earrings that somehow accentuated the sharpness of her jaw line. Her makeup was subtle apart from the addition of dark plum lipstick. Her eyelids held a gold shimmer and a small amount of eyeliner and mascara, but their colour stood out against the blue of her outfit more than anything.

She averted her eyes from the mirror and embraced Ginny, murmuring a heartfelt "thank you" before finally turning her attention to Malfoy. He too looked breath-taking. He was dressed in all black; shirt, blazer, trousers and shoes all contrasted with his platinum-blonde hair and pale skin. His lack of tie and the two buttons of his shirt being undone gave the otherwise formal attire a more casual feel. Before she could be accused of staring, Hermione placed a coat over her arm and waited as Ginny (who had returned upstairs to retrieve her things) hopped back down the stairs, still looking immensely pleased with herself.

They left together, Ginny soon walking one way and the two others jumping on a bus towards Blaise's house. They didn't speak until just outside the grit covered driveway to Blaise's house.

"Nervous?" Malfoy enquired, with an amused look at Hermione's stunning but concerned face.

"Just a bit." She admitted.

"Don't worry. We're going to blow them away." Hermione couldn't help but smile as he referred to them as 'we', but immediately scolded herself for being so ridiculous. It was Malfoy, after all. Feeling slightly more confident, she followed him towards the front door. There was a vague murmuring of numerous voices and the much louder pulse of blaring music. Malfoy rapped on the door loudly, and offered Hermione his arm. She coloured at the suggestion.

"It's only so I can get in the door, Granger." He misunderstood her blush for anger and rolled his eyes. She latched onto him, holding on with a slightly stronger grip than necessary, her knuckles white. The door opened and Crabbe stood behind it.

"So you're finally here. The house is already packed." His eyes turned on Hermione and widened slightly. "Who's this, Draco?" he asked thickly.

"This is Granger." He emphasised her name as if he was talking to a five-year old. Crabbe looked shocked for a second but ushered them in quickly. They both dropped their hands to their sides hurriedly. Hermione almost stopped dead as she admired the vastness of the house she had just stepped into. It wasn't just big, it was immense. She didn't quite know where to look – from the towering staircases, to the multiple rooms leading out of the hallway, to the incredible hangings and paintings decorating the walls.

"Don't ogle, it's not dignified." A whisper close to her ear broke her from her trance and Malfoy walked past her, placing both their coats on a stand. He beckoned to her with a hand, saying in a raised voice, over the noise: "C'mon, I'll show you around."

They passed through room after room, Hermione mapping each part of the house in her head. There was the kitchen-diner – open plan, modern, filled with snacks and cheap alcohol that Blaise had managed to sneak in only because his parents would be away for the night. Then there was a living room, wide and elegant and, Hermione found, the source of all the music. It was packed with moving bodies and overpoweringly hot, not to mention deafeningly loud. The floor above held another living space, and all the bedrooms. The second living room was more centered on entertainment, with a TV on the wall and a games console that was being hogged by a group of boys. This room had a balcony leading off the front of the house, which Hermione presumed she had been too nervous to notice when she arrived. She liked it in there as you could still hear the music from downstairs but much quieter, and there was a bookcase.

"You can leave me here, I think I know my way around." She smiled her thanks to Malfoy.

"Are you sure? Well, I'll be around." She was confused by his apparent genuine concern, so just nodded. He left, and she suddenly felt vulnerable again.

"Hermione?" It had been five minutes since Malfoy had left her and she had stood in the same place, trying to ignore the admiring looks she had been getting. The familiar voice behind her couldn't have come sooner.

"Harry! Thank goodness, I feel so out of place," she exclaimed.

"You don't look it Hermione. Quite frankly, you look amazing." Hermione smiled.

"It's all thanks to Ginny, she spent hours to get me looking like this." Harry stiffened at the sound of that name, blushing very slightly.

"What's she done now?" Ron bustled in noisily, slurring very slightly.

"A brilliant job, wouldn't you say, Ron?" said Harry sneakily. Ron's eyes widened slightly when he finally looked up at Hermione and she stared at the floor, uncomfortable.

"Blaise is making a speech in a moment," Harry said hastily, realising his mistake. He led them downstairs and Hermione followed thankfully.

"Has Ron been drinking?" Hermione asked, scolding Harry as if he were responsible, while Ron tripped down a step.

"He may have had a bottle of something…" Harry admitted sheepishly.

"Hmph. Well, don't let him have any more." She instructed.

* * *

 **Naughty Ron! And true, they are technically not supposed to be drinking but they're rebellious teens, what can you do? See you next time x**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Surprise! Double update today, I didn't think last chapter was too interesting, but I actually wrote Chapter 6 and 7 as one chapter, it was just way too long so I've split them up. Despite that I couldn't resist treating you with some more drama today, so here you go.  
Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, and the song 'Beautifully Unfinished' is all Ella Henderson's.**

* * *

They found themselves back in the lower living room, but it was different. The music had been turned down drastically and there was no one dancing, just Blaise stood in the middle of the room with everyone else at the edges of the room and overflowing through the doors. Blaise coughed and the room went quiet.

"Well, hi friends and also people I didn't know were in this year." He began jokingly. "Thanks for coming, I guess. Oh, and don't trash anything. That's about it. Enjoy!" he earned a laugh from the audience and the music started playing again. Hermione could see Malfoy on the other side of the room, looking amused. That was, until a crowd of girls dressed in tight dresses and overdone makeup approached, obviously noticing he was dateless. They tried taking his hands and leading him to the makeshift dancefloor. Hermione even saw Hannah Abbott attempt to slip her arms around his neck, at which point she decided to turn around, feeling slightly sickened. Ron had disappeared and thus Harry was searching for him. Eventually he gestures wordlessly to Hermione that he would go and find him. Not a moment after he had left, Hermione felt a presence just behind her.

"Phew, I thought you were about to dance with Potter." Malfoy said, sounding disgusted.

"And why would that be a bad thing?" Hermione asked.

"Because you're going to dance with me," he replied, smirking gorgeously.

"Ha ha, Malfoy. Go back to your admirers, at least they want the attention."

"Oooh, ouch. Now, now, dear. Don't pretend you can resist this." He posed awkwardly and Hermione let out a laugh.

"Why d'you need me to dance with you, anyway?" she inquired.

"Part of it's because they-" he nodded his head tactfully to the girls behind him, all trying to see who it was he was talking to, "think I came alone. They might go away if they see I have a stunning partner already." He winked. "But mostly it's because I'm such a gentleman and wouldn't want to leave without dancing with my _date._ " He said the last word loudly, though no one but Hermione heard.

"Alright. Just once. After that you're on your own." Malfoy beamed at her and the smile seemed so real her heart almost melted. As the current song ended, he took her hand and she somehow resisted the urge to pull it away. She was filled with dread as the next song came on and all the couples filled the floor. A slow song _._ Malfoy's face flickered with uneasiness but then he laughed shortly.

"Help us get into character." He murmured to her, and she raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly Hermione noticed how the whole room was looking at them. The girls in the corner were bubbling with jealousy, while the other couples stared at them in awe. She was immediately reminded of a scene in Pride and Prejudice, where Elizabeth Bennett is momentarily looked on with great esteem as she dances with Mr Darcy.

"They're all looking at us." She said self-consciously.

"Correction, they're all looking at _you._ " He observed calmly.

Her train of thought was broken as Malfoy started swaying gracefully, hands on her hips. She matched his movement, concentrating on not making a fool of herself.

Once feeling more comfortable, she looked up and found Malfoy's eyes on hers. The second verse came around and she started listening to the lyrics, daring to enjoy herself.

 _You left your kiss like a bruise on my lips  
Your fingerprints are tattooed on my skin  
And hush now don't cry, build your walls high  
And don't you dare come creeping in_

Malfoy spun her around once, holding her hand as she came back to her original position to steady her. She stared unblinkingly at him this time, immersing herself in his eyes, each silver fleck in the grey fascinating her.

' _Cause you're the one that I can't lose  
You're the one that I can't win_

He smiled as they moved fluidly and she noticed how it reached those eyes. They brightened happily, and the edges crinkled up very slightly.

' _Cause every time I'm with you  
Somehow I forget to breathe  
You got me like a rag doll  
Now I'm dancing on your string  
And I keep trying to figure out who you are to me  
But maybe all that we are meant to be  
Is beautifully unfinished_

All of a sudden she was extremely aware of his touch, on her hand, on her hip, and she noticed how unwilling she was for them to leave, as she knew they would have to. She wanted him to be there by her for as long as possible.

 _And I hate you and I love you  
And I wish you'd go away  
And I hate you and I love you  
And I wish that you would stay_

Hermione almost laughed at how appropriate the words were. She did hate Malfoy, most of the time, and she wasn't normally happy to be in his company. But, she realised, there was a part of her that loved him, and never wanted to be without him. The problem was, she didn't know which part was going to influence her most.

As the chorus repeated for a final time, the two of them stopped moving and listened to the last lines draw to a close.

 _Oh, beautifully unfinished  
We're beautifully unfinished_

Malfoy raised a hand and brushed away a stray strand of hair that had stuck to her head in the hot room. He smiled sadly this time and Hermione crashed back to reality. It was all a farce, not real, impossible. His fingerprint scalded her cheek as she turned away, half walking and half running until she found herself on the balcony upstairs. The tears wanted to fall, but just wouldn't materialise. She was too embarrassed and ashamed to look at anyone so she stared out at the night, the moon hiding like she wished she could, behind thick clouds.

Her head whipped around when she heard clumsy movements beside her. Her senses heightened, she detected the smell of alcohol on Ron's breath before he even spoke.

"Mione," he spluttered, wobbling on the spot. "C'mere." He giggled childishly and stretched out his arms to envelop her. When she resisted he grabbed her arm harshly with one hand, her chin with the other. "Stay still!" he was growling urgently, closing the gap between them so that Hermione's eyes watered from the fumes coming off him.

"RONALD. Get off me, you're drunk!" She shouted desperately, but with no avail. Ron grinned greedily as he leant in to press his lips to hers. Before he could achieve his goal, however, a strong arm wrenched him off her and there was a loud crunch and a thud as Ron fell to the floor, unconscious. Hermione screamed and ran to him, rotating him onto his back. She looked up at the attacker.

Malfoy stood there frozen, his eyes wide with an emotion distorting his face that scared Hermione more than anything. Pure, unrelenting fear. He wasn't looking at Ron, or at his fist which had dealt the blow and was still held in mid-air, but at Hermione. She trembled uncontrollably.

"Hermione!" Harry came running over, pushing through the crowd that had now formed. Hermione ran to him and he hugged her as tears finally spilled over. "What happened?" he asked softly.

"He… he tried to…" she tried, but her sobs took over.

"Shh, shhhh." Harry comforted her. "Was it Malfoy?" Harry asked, furious, as he spotted the boy standing motionless.

"No! No. Ron – he… he saved me from Ron." Hermione managed to force out in a whisper. She released Harry and wiped her eyes, looking around through the blur left from the tears.

She was just in time to see the pale boy, dressed all in black, storm from the room.

* * *

 **Thanks again for all the support, it's been great to reply to the reviews and talk to some of you, I'm hoping to do that all the time. Please leave a review, it actually took me an age to write these last two chapters so I really hope you liked them. I'd love any comments, even if you're just guessing what will happen next :) See you again soon!**

 **P.S. 'Beautifully Unfinished' encompasses exactly what I think Hermione/Draco's relationship is all about right now, so give it a listen if you want, it's a lovely song.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's a real quickie for you, just to wrap things up at the party. Love you all, enjoy!  
It's JK's. **

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _She released Harry and wiped her eyes, looking around through the blur left by her tears._

 _She was just in time to see the pale boy, dressed all in black, storm from the room._

* * *

Hermione stared at the door, and then at Ron, conflicted. Ron was stirring, his eyes inching open.

"Hermione, go." Harry urged her, seeing how she was torn.

"But… Ron…" she said.

"I've got it, Hermione. You need to talk to him. I saw you two dancing, I get it, just GO or you'll lose him." Hermione opened her mouth to assure him he was misunderstanding, but his final words rung through her head and she left the room.

* * *

She found Malfoy outside, leaning against the side wall of the house, the midnight breeze ruffling his hair. His eyes darted to her face and back, maintaining the same blank stare. She approached him cautiously but he made no sudden movement to draw away, so she leant next to him. After a moment, she shivered involuntarily. Without a word, he removes his blazer and passed it to her. She placed it on her shoulders.

"Thank you." She tried to say, but the words never really began and they got lost somewhere in the middle, struggling to cut through the crispness of the cold air. There was a long silence before Hermione spoke, unable to bear it any longer.

"Why did you do it?" she whispered. At first she feared he wasn't going to answer, but eventually he did.

"Punch him, or run away?" Malfoy returned evasively, sounding drained.

"Run away, I guess." Hermione said.

"Wrong answer."

"Okay, why did you punch him?" she attempted.

"Because he was drunk, and being stupid, and I couldn't just let him hurt you." Draco said.

"So why did you run away?" Hermione pressed.

"You wouldn't understand."

"You don't know that." She sounded hurt by the suggestion.

"I do, trust me." He insisted, almost scoffing. He paced slowly as he continued talking. "I've been through more than is even conceivable to you, Granger. I've lost everything you take for granted, everything you've never even stopped to consider."

"At least let me try!" Hermione cried in anguish.

"Trying only ever ends up in failure, so what's the point?" he spat coldly, facing her.

"You hypocritical idiot! A minute ago you said you couldn't let Ron hurt me, but what are you doing right now? Or is it only you who's allowed to hurt me this much." She exclaimed, quickly silencing herself before she revealed too much.

"You really want to know?" Malfoy roared back. "Yeah, I punched that _Weasel_ because I CARE. I ran away because I _care too much_! Caring is just a stepping stone towards pain – everything you care about, you lose somewhere along the way. His voice dropped to a pained murmur, "everything I've cared about, I've lost." Hermione looked sadly at Malfoy, whose eyes were glassy.

"Don't worry, you won't lose me. I'm your friend now, and I will be for as long as possible." Her heart yearned to be more than a 'friend', but she knew she should be grateful for what she had. Malfoy flared up again at her words.

"You. Don't. Get it. I said you wouldn't." Hermione opened her mouth to protest. "Don't. Just… don't." he began to walk away but Hermione ran to catch up with him. "I said _don't,_ Granger. Leave me alone, please." He looked so weak, backing away with tired eyes and pleading voice that she stopped and he turned his back. He walked off down the street and she watched him go, until the dim light of the street lamps was too weak for her eyes, and she could no longer distinguish between his figure and the night. She shrank back into the protection of the house, still clutching Malfoy's blazer.

To her, that was the only part of him she had left.

* * *

 **Please don't hate me...! It will all be sorted out soon, don't worry. Also, sorry it was so short, I wanted to have the next day as a completely new chapter. I forgot to mention that I've switched to telling the story through Hermione, just because it works so much better. It will probably go back to Draco sometime. Review? Pretty please? I'll love you forever *smiles sweetly*** **Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for the long wait, I've been pretty busy lately but I finally got this chapter down. I really hope you enjoy it and I'll try to update sooner next time.**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _She shrank back into the protection of the house, still clutching Malfoy's blazer._

 _To her, that was the only part of him she had left._

* * *

By Friday morning, Hermione Granger was officially going mad. She was driven to despair by many factors, most (well, all) of which involved a certain 'Malfoy'. _He_ hadn't been seen again after leaving Blaise's house the night before until she arrived at school and he was waiting in the normal place. He greeted her with silence, apparently not even noticing her, and the morning continued like that. Hermione was overly attentive to the fact that this would inevitably be the last day of the head's project, and that after that, Malfoy would never have reason to even look at her again. Despite having openly hated him five days ago, she knew she couldn't let it end so stupidly. Her feelings for him had crept up on her and, whether she liked it or not, she wouldn't be able to let him go.

She was oblivious, however, to the fact he was going through a very similar inner conflict. To Draco, the silence was an unnecessary disease. He was the cure, and she was the dying victim, yet he was too cowardly to end her suffering. Because that would mean opening up, and leaving himself vulnerable, unarmed and weak. And he didn't trust anyone to see that side of him. Not even her.

He too knew that getting through this day would mean she would never have motive to talk to him again, and it pained him no less than it pained her.

So, by midday, they were both struggling to do two opposite, though very simple, things. Hermione wanted more than anything to speak to Malfoy and relay the whole speech which she had been mentally preparing throughout the day. Though she tried many times to say something, the words wouldn't come out, scared away by the memory of yesterday's argument as well as the look carved on the boy's face. All the while, he was forcing himself _not_ to speak. He knew why, of course, though he hated himself for even thinking it. If he spoke to her, he wouldn't be able to help becoming her friend. But for him, that wasn't enough. He wanted more than that – he wanted her to look at him like she had during their dance but he knew that that hadn't been real, and he would prefer to be silent than tormented over being her friend. It was selfish, but it was what he needed to do.

His day was going so slowly it was almost backwards. Every second lasted that little bit longer, increasing the time he had to keep his mouth shut for. Again, for Hermione it was opposite. Her time was running out like sand slipping through her hands. Holding on tighter wouldn't make any difference, which is how she found herself outside the school fence at the end of the day, staring at Malfoy's retreating figure.

Typically, it was raining and her hair was already damp as she turned away from her route home to follow him, in a last act of despair. She caught up with him relatively quickly, but remained behind him for some time, working up the courage to speak. By the time she had calmed her nerves they were the only two people on the small side road, and the now heavy rain was battering down on the pavement, puddling in places.

"Malfoy," she called, now a few metres from him. He sped up suddenly, shoulders hunched with his hand shoved into the pockets of his tailored coat.

"Malfoy." She repeated urgently. Still, he continued walking and she sped up too.

"Draco, please!" he stopped abruptly and paused. Hermione held her breath. He turned around, eyes shut. When they opened, she finally saw all the pain he had been trying to hide, concentrated in two silver orbs.

He felt so small, standing there in the rain and looking at her face, alight with defiance.

"Nothing I can say, or do, will ever be any help to you, Granger." He said quietly.

"I don't want you to say anything. I don't need your help. Just… listen?" he breathed out through his nose and then nodded weightily.

"OK." There was a pause before she began.

"I hate- I hate that you think I'm too 'perfect' to understand whatever it is you're hiding. Like I'm too innocent or- or unblemished to get it. Yes, you may have been through more than me, but that doesn't mean I haven't lived. It doesn't mean I've never been hurt in my life. The only difference between us is that you're scared. Scared of caring, scared of losing someone, scared of being hurt again."

"You talk like you actually know me," he muttered despite himself, so that the words were only just audible over the wind.

"And you act like you know _me,_ but you don't! We were on the edge of civility and suddenly you know what's right for me? You think you know what'll 'help me'? You're so unpredictable and I really can't figure you out, even though I've tried so hard." She finished in frustration.

"I wish you wouldn't try. I'm not worth it." He replied.

"But that's not true. You're worth everything and more, Malfoy, you just won't let anyone tell you so." He could see she was on the edge of tears, though didn't understand why.

"Why? Why don't you just give up?" he asked, interrupting his racing thoughts.

"Because I've seen the real you, and I care about that Draco Malfoy. A lot." She admitted, looking terrified to say it. Draco couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He stared disbelievingly and she turned her face away, but not soon enough to hide the stream of tears running down her face.

"Forget it." She turned to walk away and then turned back, saying as afterthought: "See. Not so perfect anymore." Though she laughed shortly, he hated how obvious it was that she was hurting. She angled herself away once more. A second later, Draco had gently placed a hand on her arm in a kind of elated yet desperate trance. She faced him, surprised, and he enveloped her in a cautious embrace. After a moment, he felt her head rest on his shoulder and he entwined his hand in her hair.

"That's just it, though. You're always perfect to me." He murmured in her ear, knowing he'd never be able to leave her again, and being perfectly content with that.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and please please please review with thoughts. I hope this lived up to expectation, it was tricky to write but I got there eventually. That's not the end at all, there's plenty more to come! Leave a review! Much love!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Chapter 10! What!? It's unreal to think that I've written ten whole chapters of a story and people have actually read it, and some have liked it enough to want more. I can't thank you enough and I really hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _"That's just it, though. You're always perfect to me." He murmured in her ear, knowing he'd never be able to leave her again, and being perfectly content with that._

* * *

"You're soaking," Draco said, releasing her. She laughed and the sound, though shy, warmed Draco so thoroughly that he forgot about the rain completely.

"Well spotted, Sherlock." She smiled teasingly, eyes sparkling happily under dripping lashes.

"Come on, we'll go back to mine." He slung an arm around her shoulders and gently pushed her in the direction of his house.

"My parents, they'll wonder where I am," She protested, the severity of her statement interrupted by slight shivers.

"It's fine, you can text them can't you? I only live a few minutes away." The girl gave in almost immediately after that and they walked, their rapid footsteps unfazed by the scattered puddles covering the pavement.

When they arrived, Hermione was astounded by the house, and by the fact she'd been on this street before. It had never crossed her mind that Draco and Blaise were neighbours or that his house would be quite as immense as the latter's.

"Excessive, isn't it?" Draco commented dryly, noticing her awed look.

"Yes – I mean, no, but… you went all the way to my house only to come back to a party at your neighbour's?" she clarified.

"Yeah, of course I did," Draco replied nonchalantly. "Wouldn't want you getting lost, would we?" Hermione's heart fluttered at the hidden meaning behind his words and they stood in silence in the driveway, each contemplating the events of the past few days.

"Granger," She looked around at him automatically and he paused. "Hermione." He amended, one side of his mouth lifting up in a smirk.

"Yes, Draco?" She replied with a small smile also.

"Thank you."

"For what, exactly?"

"Your infuriating ability to never give up on me."

"No problem." She took his hand and squeezed it tenderly.

Once Draco had unlocked the front door, they stepped in together. Hermione froze in admiration, mirroring her reaction when she stepped into Blaise's house. Draco's house was much the same, as far as the layout was concerned, the only difference was the history of it. Hermione knew the Malfoy family was well-established, but never would have guessed they went far enough back for their house to be filled with ancient antiques, family portraits and furniture that looked Victorian.

"It's amazing," she breathed, turning to Draco. His eyes were not scanning the room with reverie, though - quite the opposite. They were clamped shut and he was clinging desperately to the edges of his coat, a purple maze of veins showing through his skin. Hermione was scared into silence; it was as much as she could do to simply place a hand on his shoulder. Slowly, he relaxed, hands unclenching, eyes blinking open.

"I'm fine," Draco assured, answering her expression of worry. "I get flashbacks occasionally, they come and go. Seriously, it's nothing. Just like having twenty seconds of a bad dream." He smiled reassuringly, but Hermione wasn't convinced.

"What happened to you here, Draco?" She whispered, trying to keep the pleading from her voice.

"I will tell you, sometime. I want to tell you but… just…"

"When the time is right." She said kindly and he nodded.

"Draco, who are you talking to?" A woman's voice called from one of the rooms.

"I have a… friend with me, mother." Draco shouted back, and the next moment his mother was standing before them. She was just as Hermione thought she would be, the same blonde hair and pale skin as her son, with good looks and an air that demanded respect.

"This is Hermione Granger," Draco introduced. To her credit, Narcissa Malfoy remained unreactive at the mention of that name. She smiled at the girl and shot Draco a confused look when Hermione's eyes were averted. "Hermione and I are on good terms, despite what I may have said previously," he smiled sheepishly at her, "she's going to stay the night, if that's OK." Hermione spun around, a look of incredulity on her face, directed at Draco.

"Of course she can! But you'd do well to treat her better – she looks drowned! How long did you keep her out in the rain, Draco?" She winked subtly at Hermione who smiled, seeing that her 'sleepover' had already been organised for her. _It would be rude to reject the offer now,_ she thought, placating herself. As Draco spluttered out an excuse, his mother interrupted him: "never mind that, go and get this poor girl a dressing gown, there'll be one in the spare room." Draco pursed his lips but moved towards the stairs to follow that order.

"Oh, one thing." Draco said, walking back and smirking in a mischievous way that was rather disconcerting for Hermione. He stood facing her, placing a hand under her chin. Tilting her chin up with one finger, he kissed her gently. Neither could be quite sure, but they thought they heard Mrs. Malfoy let out a small squeal.

Immediately after, Draco departed, taking two steps at a time and disappearing through a door on the landing. Hermione was left in wondrous bewilderment with Mrs. Malfoy staring at her, wide-eyed and grinning with amazement. Hermione smiled nervously, fiddling at the hem of her jumper.

"I didn't think he'd find anyone." The older woman was observing her kindly, with a look of motherly affection.

"I still don't know if there's anyone good enough." Hermione agreed contemplatively.

"It seems you are."

* * *

 **Thanks once again and please review! They are what keep me writing and anything is appreciated. It doesn't matter if you're a guest reviewer, I just want some opinions: suggestions, criticism or encouragement, it's helpful to see anything! See you in the next chapter :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hellooooo! I'm back, a bit later than usual but with quite a long chapter! This one has been one of the hardest but also best to write, so I hope you enjoy it!  
JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, and these two wonderful characters.**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _"I still don't know if there's anyone good enough." Hermione agreed contemplatively._

 _"It seems you are."_

* * *

 **I was listening to this song as I wrote this chapter - it gave me a bit of inspiration so I thought I'd show you some of the lyrics, just to get you in the mood!**

 _I breathe in slow to compose myself  
Bu_ _t the bleeding heart I left on the shelf  
Started speeding round, beating half to death  
Cause you're here and you're all mine_

 _So I press my lips down into your neck_  
 _And I stay there and I reconnect_  
 _Bravery I've been trying to be perfect_  
 _It can wait for a while_

 _Scared of hope in my head it's been making me sweat but it turns out_  
 _You're here with your head on my chest_  
 _I should've guessed_

 _The world will turn and we'll grow, we'll learn how to be_  
 _To be incomplete_

 _Incomplete - James Bay_

* * *

"Hey." Looking up, Draco saw Hermione peering around the edge of the door into his room.

"You can come in." he said. She entered, dressed in a large black t-shirt, the biggest that Draco could find, which came down to her knees.

"Thanks for lending me this. I've _almost_ forgiven you for basically forcing me to stay here." she pursed her lips and smirked playfully.

"I never knew why annoying you was so much fun until now," Draco said, approaching her. "But you're really cute when you try to be angry." he smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. She pouted when he drew back, but couldn't resist smiling brilliantly after a moment. She perched herself on the edge of his bed as he tidied the room hurriedly.

"You did hate me though, didn't you?" Hermione queried curiously.

"Yeah, I hated you as soon as I met you. You were everything I had told myself was wrong, and the fact you were so happy to be that way killed me." he admitted openly. "You were well-liked, but happy to only have two best friends. You were smart, and unafraid to show it no matter what anyone said. You were so much more than pretty, yet you were never vain or self-absorbed. Everything about you was frustratingly _proper_." Hermione smiled slightly but said nothing, knowing that he needed the chance to talk.

"Worse than all that, though, was your ability to understand me. You could interpret my mood better than _Blaise_ , and understand my intention whenever I acted. Imagine playing a game of chess when the other person already knows your next move. I couldn't win. The fact you were capable of taking down every wall I had ever put up scared me so much that I turned to hating you. It was a way of distancing myself more than anything, because you intrigued me and I couldn't afford to get close to you – at least that's what I told myself." he reasoned apologetically.

"That explains a lot. I always thought I'd done something to annoy you." Hermione replied, relieved. There was silence briefly, until Draco sighed resolutely.

"I guess I should tell you, shouldn't I?" he mused. He sat down on the bed also, with his back to Hermione. She didn't speak, but leant up against him, waiting.

"You may have noticed the lack of a father in this house." he said bitterly. "That's because he cheated on my mother when I was twelve. The _other_ woman was young and beautiful, I imagine, but probably didn't care for him, only his money. My mother was, and still is, I think, besotted with him, and what he did broke her heart. One day, when she finally confronted him, he lied to her. She told him to leave, of course, but when he did eventually go, he took a part of her with him. I lost both my parents that day, and I'm only just getting bits of my mother back." Draco's hands trembled very slightly and he swallowed, his throat dry. It was a simple thing, talking, but the fear it induced sickened him, despite immediately feeling lighter and happier.

"I'm so sorry, Draco. I - I don't know what to say." the small voice surprised Draco. For a moment he had forgotten Hermione was there, as if he had been talking to the wall in front of him; the pressure of her body on his had begun to feel natural. Now he treasured it, every part of him in contact with her tingling of its own accord. Slowly and cautiously, he reached behind him and edged his hand closer to hers. His little finger brushed across her palm and her hand unclasped, the two sets of fingers interweaving and the palms meeting, like two intricate components of a puzzle, locking together naturally.

"You don't have to say anything, I just need you here." he whispered. She felt him turn behind her, never letting go of her hand, and she twisted her head around towards him. She was met by an embrace, his arms snaking over her shoulders protectively, head buried in her shoulder. She felt him kiss the exposed skin at the base of her neck and shivered involuntarily. He smiled into her shoulder at the reaction and she blushed nervously, looking away. The next moment, her head was moved back towards him by a gentle, warm hand.

Draco's eyes met the chocolatey brown of the girl's, and he smiled. Their copper hue, so close to his face, revealed the warmth behind her returning smile. Her cheeks were still tinted pink as she leant in to him, eyes darting from his lips back to his eyes and finally closing, his eyelids dropping in the same way seconds later. He felt the first tentative touch of her mouth on his, and couldn't help but reciprocate the movement they gave. His hand found itself on her face, the thumb on her cheek and the fingers capturing strands of her hair, while hers, smooth and caring, caressed his neck and rested on his shoulders.

Rapidly, the kiss became more passionate - all inhibitions had vanished, and they were left with a raw hunger for each other. Draco's tongue teased at the girl's lips carefully, never forgetting how special the recipient of the affection was. It was permitted entry soon enough – Hermione couldn't resist humouring him – and their tongues collided. They continued desperately, expending all their breath to stay attached to each other. When they finally broke apart they were breathing deeply, foreheads still touching, small smiles on their faces. Hermione's hand remained on Draco's neck as he dipped down to kiss her again, lovingly and briefly.

"Goodnight Hermione." he backed off the bed, leaving Hermione sunken into the mattress on one side. He was at the light switch in no time, eyes resting on her before he plunged the room into darkness. She shuffled under the covers, yearning for his warmth rather than the warmth that the silky material gave her. She heard him retire to the sofa by the wall, which had been turned into a makeshift bed.

"Goodnight Draco." she whispered into the darkness.

* * *

Hermione woke in purer darkness than she had fallen asleep in. She had to wait for the hazy stupidity usually caused by an untimely arousal to pass before she realised what had awoken her. The loud _thump_ a few seconds earlier had broken her out of a blissful slumber, and she looked around (though pointless in the dark) to find the culprit.

"Ow." a male voice moaned groggily.

"Draco? Did – did you just fall out of bed?" Hermione whispered stifling a laugh.

"Oh, it's alright for you, because I, extremely graciously, let you have my bed!" he replied. "I could always make you sleep on the sofa!"

"Tell you what," Hermione yawned. "This is a double bed, we can both fit." she suggested.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable – I was only joking about the sofa, you know." Draco murmured, slightly nervously.

"It's fine Draco. If you're comfortable with it then I am too." she insisted. He slipped in next to her and instantly felt cosier with her heat warming the whole bed. He relaxed and closed his eyes. The breathing next to him had returned to a steady pattern, announcing Hermione's return to dreamland. As Draco himself was slipping away he was barely aware of the cumbersome movement beside him, only realising what was happening when a weight placed itself on his chest. He just managed to lift his arm and wrap it around Hermione without waking her, as she had taken up a rather delicate position over him. One of her arms clasped his t-shirt and her head was situated between his collar bones. He fell asleep contently, sensible of the fact she trusted him fully, and that he had finally trusted her.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that! I'd like to say hello and welcome to the ton of new followers I got last chapter! Please review your thoughts, I really appreciate any comments. Thanks to my regular reviewer 'daswhoiam' for all the lovely feedback and for reviewing on every chapter so far - thank you :) See you all next time x**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Yes, I have finally returned! Sorry about that, I had massive writer's block for this chapter, even though it's really just a filler (it is one of the longest chapters though). Thanks for waiting and, without further ado, enjoy!  
JK Rowling _still_ owns Harry Potter! I know right, you would have thought after twelve chapters I would be earning from this fanfic, but still no...**

* * *

Last chapter:

 _He fell asleep contently, sensible of the fact she trusted him fully, and that he had finally trusted her._

* * *

Sunday brought the first snow of the winter. It drifted down miserably for the whole day, melting into the wet ground and creating a layer of discoloured mush on every surface. Leafless trees shivered in the bitter wind and murky clouds sprinted across the sky, covering the sun so sporadically it was like a flashlight being turned on and off at random.

Draco woke that day to find a surprising vacancy next to him. He turned his head and squinted past the shard of light that was entering his bedroom through the window. The curtain had been opened fractionally, and there was a silhouette standing there, looking out. As his eyes gradually focused, he saw Hermione, fully dressed (in what looked like one of his mother's tops), gazing out dreamily.

"Morning." he said, his voice husky from just waking up.

"Snow!" she whispered excitedly, still looking out of the window. "It's not settling though." she added, more glumly. Draco sat up, stretching. He pushed his hair out of his face lazily and clambered out of bed. He took a quick peep out of the window and then, satisfied that nothing extraordinary was happening, went to the bathroom, marvelling at Hermione's child-like excitement.

As soon as he had showered, Hermione began insisting she would leave. She checked for the last time that she hadn't left anything and emphatically declined Draco's offer to walk her home, ensuring him that there was no need for two people to freeze to death out there. She bade Draco's mother goodbye – she too seemed unwilling to let Hermione leave so early.

Walking to the door they were both silent, stopping before Draco opened the door for one last, short kiss. As Draco watched her go, weightless snowflakes making a home in her hair, the day in which they would be apart suddenly seemed much longer.

* * *

Monday's snow was much more welcoming. That long awaited morning arrived and Draco, having got up unnaturally early, passed the time by staring out of his window in the same way as Hermione had the morning before. Nothing was left untouched or unchanged by the blankets of pillow-like snow - like an overnight invasion of frozen water, Draco's world was suddenly alien, and he loved it. He tore himself away from the window to get ready for school.

He pulled on a pair of gloves before leaving, grateful for them as soon as he stepped outside and the still, cold air nipped at his cheeks. Just as he placed one foot onto the pavement, a wet ball of snow smacked into the side of his head. He let out a yell of surprise and discomfort, and turned his head in the direction from which it had come. He saw nobody, but could just make out the sound of a familiar but muffled laugh.

"I know it's you, Blaise." he called out. The laughing continued, and a minute later a figure, wrapped up in a coat, appeared from behind a bush.

"So – so funny – you – your face! I've been waiting out here ages to do that, but it was so worth it!" he said hysterically, forcing the words out between laughs.

"Shut up. That was really cold." Draco replied, grumpily. "It's not funny Blaise, seriously." His friend continued laughing. Draco gathered up some snow from the ground and formed it into a ball discreetly. When Blaise was distracted, doubled over in fits of laughter, Draco squashed the snowball onto the top of his head, letting in dribble down over Blaise's face and neck.

"ARGH!" Blaise exclaimed, flicking bits of snow off his forehead.

" _Now_ it's funny. Cold, isn't it?" Draco chuckled, satisfied. Blaise glared at him for a while, then brushed it off.

"Okay, let's call it evens for now – we can settle this after school in the park." His eyes glistened mischievously and Draco nodded enthusiastically, then paused, knowing this would be the best time to own up. They were perfectly alone, and comfortably genial.

"I'll bring Hermione." he stated, trying to sound dismissive, but not quite managing to throw Blaise off. In fact, the other boy stopped dead in surprise. After a moment of unintelligible spluttering, he burst out:

"A – when did she become 'Hermione' and not 'Granger'? B – that stupid project is _over_! In other words, you don't have to even look at her again! Isn't that what you were waiting for?" Draco bit the inside of his cheek twitchily.

"Don't kill me, mate. Hermione is not as bad as I – as we – thought she was. I don't hate her at all - in fact, the opposite really." he admitted.

"I should have known. When you bought her to my party, you weren't doing it just to get in, were you? You really wanted her to come – you really care about her, don't you?" Blaise said, as if he already knew the answer. Draco nodded silently. "I dunno what everyone's going to say about this, but good luck. Today's not going to be easy. For either of you." Blaise warned, suddenly sounding a bit awkward, as if he'd just processed everything.

"It's worth it, though – _she's_ worth it." Draco murmured, ignoring Blaise's look of incredulity.

"Wait until Pansy hears about this…" Blaise muttered to himself.

* * *

"WHAT!?" Hermione watched desperately as Pansy Parkinson produced more and more exclamations of surprise, reacting to what Draco had just told her. From the confused stares shot her way from Pansy and the apologetic ones from Draco, she could confidently guess what (and who) the subject of the conversation was.

It was Monday morning, before lessons had even started, and already news was spreading about her and Draco. Rumours were inevitable at this point, but she was still desperate to ensure Harry heard it from her first, causing a kind of fidgety impatience every time they had to stop. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the low buzz of students and the high-pitched screams issuing from the groups of children outside, still throwing clumps of snow at each other.

"That went well." A voice said softly, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. She looked up at Draco, his face showing the utmost solemnity, only interrupted by the right side of his mouth pulling up slightly, the echo of a smile. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on." They weaved their way through the corridors and upstairs, Hermione now silently begging to find Harry sometime soon. Her wishes were soon answered, and glimpses of a jet black hair and round spectacles could be seen at the end of the long corridor. Draco hung back, letting Hermione approach her friend by herself. The walk seemed long and fateful, the walls repeating themselves, making her feel like she was no closer to him. Despite having finally found him, seeing Harry only brought up anxiety in aggressive bubbles that accumulated in Hermione's stomach as she anticipated his reaction. He noticed her arrival, and she also noticed that, in a stroke of luck, Ron wasn't around to disturb them.

"Hermione!" Harry called, smiling as she moved towards him.

"Hi Harry." she replied. He must have noticed the weariness in her voice, as his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_. A lot's happened since Friday, that's all." she said, unintentionally cryptically. Harry waited, the concern for her merging with confusion. Hermione took a deep breath.

"What's he doing here?" Harry cut her off before she even said a word. He was staring at something behind her, and she swivelled around to see Draco walking towards them, each step purposeful. When he reached them, he took up one of Hermione's hands in his own. She blushed, but didn't object.

"Ah." This was all Harry said, but it was enough.

"What you said, last Thursday, about us dancing? You weren't completely correct, but it ended up that way, if you know what I mean." Hermione said, watching him carefully. He just nodded vaguely, taking it all in. "Could you tell Ron? I don't think I could face him. He might take it better if it comes from you, even though I know it really should be me telling him. Please, Harry?" she requested, and he nodded more firmly now, causing her to sigh in relief.

* * *

To say the day was tiring would be an understatement. Hermione found herself swarmed by numbers of girls, some not even in her year. Most were curious and nosy, wanting to know all about Draco rather than her. Some, like Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, were thrilled for her, and left soon after, swooning over stories of her weekend that she only supplied to a few of them. A few spat hateful comments at her, especially when Draco was seen with her, because they believed Draco was theirs and she wasn't good enough for him. She only coped because he was never far away, insisting on shadowing her everywhere and reassuring her whenever she was doubtful. They were the news of the year, if not the school, and everyone was talking about them.

For the few who either hadn't heard or, quite sensibly, had given up on believing rumours, some solid proof came at lunch.

Draco and Hermione sat together in the canteen, causing a handful of turned heads and groups frequent stares from students of the younger years. After all, their rivalry was famous, and it appeared that their romance would be even more so. They were alone for a while, but were joined by Harry, who came alone. Coincidentally, Hermione had spotted Ginny in the corner of her eye, eager to run over and question her. When Harry joined them however, she decided against it, and remained with her group of friends, blushing faintly. Hermione noted Ron's absence with a guilty pang in her heart, but was soon distracted by the arrival of two more people. Blaise and Pansy sat down, Pansy excitedly professing to Hermione that she was the talk of the school. The girl seemed bent upon making up for her reaction earlier and, though the awkwardness and coldness subtly remained in her demeanour, both Hermione and Draco were warmed by the effort. Blaise just sat there, flitting between concentrating fully on his girlfriend and observing the new couple.

As they left, the whole room seemed to be watching. Mouths stopped mid-chew, and heads turned in their direction. There was no noise but the occasional whisper and the clatter of cutlery. Hermione kept her gaze on Draco as they left. His jaw was set, and he kept sighing impatiently. After a moment, he began glaring around at everyone, the heat of the look making a few people drop their eyes.

"Should we give them something to actually talk about?" Hermione suggested, and she recognised the inspired shine in his eyes when he looked at her. It was the look he gave when he was about to cause mischief.

"Go on then." he said daringly, smirking. He stepped in front of her and they both stopped walking. She was mirroring his playful smile as she pressed her lips to his, only half hearing the gasps of what must have been half the school filling the room.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and please review, it would make me so happy! I've just seen the word count, and it really is quite lengthy, isn't it? Ah well, hope you weren't bored to death :)  
** **You can probably sense this fanfiction coming to an end, and it kind of is, but there are a fair few chapters to go. As always, I hope you liked it and thanks for the support. See you in the next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello! I'm going to stop apologising for not uploading so regularly and just say that I will update once a week. That's that done. Sorry to keep you all waiting. Welcome to the new followers from last chapter! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _She was mirroring his playful smile as she pressed her lips to his, only half hearing the gasps of what must have been half the school filling the room._

* * *

The shouts of surprise, which had broken out simultaneously, died down just as suddenly when the two drew apart. Draco was smirking, admiring the girl opposite him devotedly. Hermione was observing him shyly, taken over by an unusual bashfulness that only he could induce. When their gaze was broken, the whole room exploded in cacophonous exclamations. Every pair of eyes were diverted, still shining with ravenous curiosity, as students of all years turned to their peers to discuss this new development.

Draco, eager to finally leave and avoid the prying eyes of strangers, turned to leave. He was surprised to discover that Hermione was not right beside him, as she had been for the whole day. He looked around at her and his eyebrows sank down in confusion. She was frozen, staring at something just over his shoulder with guilt plastered over her face. Draco swivelled around once again, following her gaze. He immediately understood.

Standing in the doorway into the canteen, eyes wide with shock and hurt, was Ron Weasley. He was staring right back at Hermione, tears threatening to spill in the corners of his eyes, hands clenched in aggressive agitation. Suddenly, he was gone, storming away up the corridor, the door swinging shut in his absence. Seconds later, Hermione strode past Draco in pursuit of him.

"Hermione…" Draco said to her retreating figure.

"Don't. This is my fault – I need to put it right." she said briefly, with determination. She was gone before he could even reply.

* * *

"Ron!" He heard her call clearly, and stopped walking abruptly. Though the corridor was full of students, all avoiding the snow, he could pick up her voice. It was so familiar, and made his heart race more every time he heard it. But he couldn't think like that anymore. He had blown it that night at Blaise's, and allowed for Draco Malfoy, of all people, to swoop in and be her knight in shining armour.

"Ron." she repeated. She was much closer now, close enough for him to hear her heavy breaths from trying to catch up with him. Slowly, he looked around. Her face was a confusion of multiple emotions, all coming to the surface individually and bowing back to allow the next to show itself. First, concern. Then, guilt. Anguish, a flash of fear, sadness. Back to concern.

"Harry had to tell me. I didn't even hear it from you. What were you trying to do, bring me down gently? I already knew you didn't think of me that way. I couldn't have blamed you for any of it, but now you can't even face me? I'm sorry, Hermione, but that's not you." Ron admitted sadly.

"I know. I really do. It should have been me to tell you, I was just… too afraid of seeing you hurt because of me. I couldn't bear it." Hermione admitted remorsefully.

"You've only hurt me more by avoiding the truth. I could live with you choosing someone else - I knew it would happen one day – but you don't trust me anymore. That's what hurts. I know it's my fault really, after what happened at Zabini's house, but you haven't come near me since, and I feel disgusting, like a germ, or a pest. I _wanted_ to apologise – after all, I was drunk – but it looked like you would run away screaming if I came near you." he said, with pleading eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Ron, I am. And to be honest, I'd already forgiven you, I was more worried about what Draco would do if you came near us." Hermione reasoned, stepping forward and placing a hand one of his limp arms.

"He really is your hero, isn't he." he spoke dryly, and Hermione realised, with a pang of pain in her chest, that there was a hint of underlying jealousy in his voice.

"Don't, Ron. Please-"

"No, Hermione." he cut her off swiftly, shaking away her touch roughly. "It's so unfair. I've loved you since you were, what, 13? And then there's _him._ He saw you at that party and suddenly realised that you're quite good looking. So, he jumps in and suddenly you're gone. Just like that, he's got you. I wanted – I so wanted – to be the one to help you, to save you, but-"

"Why do you always assume I need saving? I'm no damsel in distress, Ronald." Hermione interrupted, her voice rising higher and higher as she got more worked up. "This is why _we"_ she gestured between them, "could never work! You make me sound weak, and that in itself brings me down. Draco betters me, and I better him. We understand each other. You never could understand me, not really. I love you Ron, but as a _best friend_. I want that best friend back." Tears rolled down her cheeks and her lip trembled, but she stood, tall and defiant.

"And I love you, Hermione, as much more than a friend. You keep trying to escape that fact, but it will never change." Ron murmured, avoiding her eyes and attempting a smile that only distorted the sorrow in his face, leaving him with a twisted grimace, almost like a mask. After a moment, he walked forward, his steps deliberate. He walked right passed her, saying in passing:

"Best friends it is then." Hermione had inclined her head slightly to hear him, and she smiled now, a simple, sweet, true smile. Then, Ron walked on, oddly at peace.

* * *

"Oof!" Draco grunted, staggering back and brushing snow off his arm. "Oh, it's _on._ " he shouted, his cheeks flushed very slightly with exhilaration. They were in the park ('they' being Draco, Hermione, Blaise and Pansy) after a predictably long Monday. As promised, the snowball fight had resumed promptly and Blaise and Pansy were in the process of setting up base behind a huge, wizened oak tree. Hermione and Draco were currently crouched behind a bench, trying to reach the much needed cover of a thick evergreen bush. Every time they rose, however, a snowball would be pelted straight at them by one of the other two, causing them to crouch back down again.

Silently, Hermione, her ringlets of hair drooping and drenched by melted snow, tapped Draco on the shoulder. She signalled for them to split and run in different directions, and the boy, looking more like a child than ever, grinned. He raised three fingers and counted down, mouthing.

3, 2, 1…

Simultaneously, they sprinted in opposite directions. Hermione heard one ball of snow hit Draco, but she kept running, expecting to be hit any minute. Surprisingly, nothing came her way. She found refuge behind a tree, smaller than the large oak, but still big enough to hide her. She was just catching her breath when she heard a voice.

"Freeze." Hermione turned round with her hands up in surrender, recognising Pansy's voice. To her immense surprise, the girl was grinning, holding a snowball in her upright fist. "Freeze, get it!" she laughed, lowering the snowball, and then sighed. Hermione stared, confused. "I figured that those two were having too much fun." she nodded her head in the direction of Blaise and Draco's ongoing battle. Hermione smiled suddenly, understanding. "Allies?" Pansy suggested, pushing her sleek black bob back behind her ears with one hand.

"Allies." Hermione agreed, nodding. They started collecting up snow immediately, ending up with armfuls of cold, compact snowballs. They waited until the shouts of the two boys subsided, proving they had finally noticed the absence of their female companions. Charging with new life, the two girls emerged from their hiding place and rapidly bombarded Draco and Blaise with repetitive pellets of snow. Few hit their targets, but the shocked expressions on their boyfriends' faces was enough satisfaction.

Unfortunately for them, their stack of snowballs was depleting extremely quickly, and soon they were left unarmed, suddenly turning on their heels to run away, tailed by the boys, who now had a snowball each. Hermione's legs had begun to seize up with the cold, seemingly frozen by the negative temperature, so she was soon caught by Draco, who grabbed her around the waist, sweeping her right off the ground. She flailed around unsuccessfully; his grip around was like a chain, but still gentle – even now, he was afraid of hurting her. Gradually, she stopped fidgeting and he let her down.

She turned as soon as her feet touched the ground to see Draco holding a snowball, eyebrow raised threateningly. Hermione, moving deftly across the crunchy white blanket beneath her, grabbed his arm firmly. Just as he was about to release the snowball, she kissed him.

It was an ugly kiss. Their lips were chapped from the exposure to the biting wind, and moved roughly against each other. The cold of their skin clashed with the warmth of their attached mouths and her gloved hand was uncomfortable and itchy on his jaw. But it filled them both with more warmth than any blazing fire or thick blanket could have.

Hermione pulled away first, unclasping her fingers, which had moved down his arm to his hand. She stepped back, a smug look on her face. Draco was momentarily confused, until she raised his snowball in her hand. He only then realised it had disappeared from his own hand during the kiss. He laughed nervously, eyes wide, and charged away, with her hot on his heels.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading - leave a review etc etc. Shout out to one of the reviewers from last chapter: 'MissesE'. Thanks for your lovely comments, constant support and useful points that really influenced this chapter, I hope you liked it. See you all next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hello! Chapter 14 is here and we are so close to the end of this fanfiction! I'm so grateful for the support lately - I recently got 30 followers of this story, so thank you! Enjoy this one!  
JK Rowling owns HP.  
**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _He laughed nervously, eyes wide, and charged away, with her hot on his heels._

* * *

Nerves were not something Draco was accustomed to. Sure, he was aware of them; he knew they existed, but throughout his life he simply wouldn't accommodate for them. They were pointless, irrational fears that assumed the worst of a situation when it would, most likely, turn out perfectly fine.

But here, in the swanky restaurant with its simpering waiters and glaring lights, he felt the ominous weight of anxiety settle on him. He was only waiting for Hermione – _it's just Hermione_ , he kept telling himself, but it made no difference.

He had his hair mussed up artfully, and he wore a shirt, a black blazer and matching trousers, which he kept wiping his hands on in vain attempts to remove the sweat beading there. His eyes darted around the room, viewing the elderly couple in the corner eating silently, and the young, probably newly married couple just beside him, chatting animatedly, entranced by each other. He watched the group of friends, all on their phones, as they smiled inwardly or knitted their eyebrows together in confusion, completely ignoring the real people sitting around them.

The restaurant itself was beautiful – it was a favourite of his mother's – and he remembered visiting it in the past. Some memories included his father, some were just him and his mother. Now, he would be here, alone with Hermione. He had arrived early (a near miracle) and had sat at their reserved table. It was Wednesday, after school, and as the fuss about their relationship finally died down, Draco had decided it was time to take Hermione on a proper date. She had been eager to comply, as long as she had enough time to do her homework beforehand.

It seemed the thousandth time someone entered, but Draco still looked up. That's when he saw her. That's when everything else disappeared. There was no longer an elderly or a young couple, no longer a group of friends on their phones, no simpering waiters, no glaring lights, just her and him. It was the same, every time he saw her. And, as much it scared him to care so much, he was beginning to feel safe. All he needed to do was set his eyes on her, and he was calm.

She wore a blouse and some smart skinny jeans. Her hair was still its natural bushiness, but sectioned apart to keep it out of her eyes. It wasn't much, but it was all she needed to captivate him. She had never been exceptionally pretty – Draco knew that – but she had a graceful beauty about her that was much more valuable.

She saw him, and she smiled shyly, eyes lighting up. He loved that look. She didn't seem pathetic or weak, just slightly apprehensive, but still with that touch of intrigue and anticipation that she could never seem to shake off.

"Hey," she greeted him as she reached the table.

"You look stunning." Draco complemented, drawing her chair out for her. She sat down, shaking her head slightly at the comment, as if to brush it off.

"This place is amazing, Draco. How did you find out about it?" she asked in awe.

"I used to come her with my mother… and father." he said, images from those days flashes past his eyes. He started breathing rapidly – his flashbacks only ever came when he was at home, and this had never happened before.

"Draco, focus on me." Hermione's voice cut through his panic with its unfaltering steadiness and he looked up at her. The look of worry on her face was enough to shatter him.

"I should never have suggested coming here. I'm sorry Hermione, I-" he apologised, appalled at himself for spoiling their date already. Hermione stopped his words by placing her hand on his, which had been clenched on the table in front of him.

"No. You don't have to apologise. This place… I love it. Thank you. And the fact that you brought me here when it holds so many memories for you makes it all the more special. The more you open up to me, the more I like the Draco I see, so please don't try and protect me from him."

"What did I do to deserve you? All I ever did was annoy and insult you, and your friends. Yet here you are, still forgiving and accepting me." Draco said, calm once again.

"No one is more surprised than me, but we've never really been able to avoid each other, have we? I mean, even in our first year at high school we'd always end up quarrelling at some point. If I believed in fate, I would say it was inevitable. Thankfully, I don't condone such fancifulness, so I'll put it down to the fact that our teachers seemed bent on having us in the same classes. After all, you can only spend so long with someone without going mad, whether that be madly in love or madly angry." stated Hermione. At the word 'love', she blushed profusely, but Draco politely diverted his eyes for her to recover. They both sat in silence for a while, thinking separate thoughts with related topics.

Hermione knew she was falling. She was sensible enough to recognise that, and knew that soon she wouldn't be able to deny that she had fallen in love with Draco Malfoy. The thought alone didn't scare her, but she knew that it would be too much for Draco, if she told him. She knew he was scared of hurting her, even though Hermione believed he never would, and having her so attached to him would only heighten his fear. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't even sure he would say the same. He may love her, but was he _in_ love with her?

Coincidentally, the same question came to Draco. He had admitted to himself days ago that Hermione was the one person he cared most about in the world, but he couldn't bring himself to call it love. He had seen the pain that love could cause from a young age, and wasn't prepared to expose Hermione to the same hurt.

Meanwhile, the waiter came and took their orders, snapping both of the teens out of their contemplation. Hermione quickly flicked through the menu and picked the first thing that caught her eye, while Draco relayed the one meal he had always had in this restaurant. Once they were left alone (once again in silence), Draco let out a small chuckle.

"What?" Hermione asked, smiling too. She surveyed him quietly. He was staring at the fork that he twiddled in his hand without really seeing it.

"What you said… about fate? Maybe it does exist." he chuckled again as she raised her eyebrows. "Before us was, well, _us,_ it was like there was some kind of magnetic force, keeping us together. If we ever drifted too far away, something pulled us back. At that time it was a predicament of some kind -"

"Because we could _both_ be imbecilic maniacs." Hermione interjected jokingly. Draco nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Yes, but now it's something much better. It's almost as if we argued…" he paused, as if something was suddenly dawning on him. "It's almost as if we argued because we didn't want to admit how much we might like each other, if we tried." Once again, he laughed, memories flickering in front of him like an old-fashioned movie.

He saw Hermione walking away from him in the crowds of school, and how easily he could pick up her figure despite the masses of students. He remembered every time she had poked him, or nudged him, and how the skin where she had touched him would burn. He had assumed it had been because of his defiant aversion toward her, but now he saw it differently. It was the same nervous happiness that he got now, whenever they came into contact.

He looked up at Hermione, and saw the same surprised realisation on her face as he felt on his. He smiled wistfully, thinking of all their lost time, but also of all the time they had left. He reached for her hand and lifted it up, so that both their elbows were on the table and their arms were upright. He intertwined their fingers and they both stared at their joined hands. After a while, Draco turned his hand so that her arm was towards him. He kissed the back of it very gently, letting his lips linger there, and keeping eye contact with her.

" _Fate,_ " Hermione murmured, as if trying the word out in her mouth. Her eyes gleamed with peaceful happiness. "Maybe I should try being fanciful more often."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! I won't be able to upload for a while because I'm going away for Christmas but as soon as I come back I'll give you two updates. Sorry about that. Please review, I'll love you forever and ever. See you next time! Have a good Christmas!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey, I'm back, and I bring a new chapter! I got only got home late yesterday, so I've put this together quite quickly. Still, I hope you like it, and I hope your Christmas was perfectly magical.** **JK Rowling owns anything you might recognise.**

* * *

Hermione smiled despite herself, reliving her date with Draco from the evening before. It was a blur now; once their food had arrived it seemed as if they had talked a lot about very little. Now she was sitting in English class, wishing, for the first time, that she were not in school, but instead spending more time with Draco, despite the fact he was only sitting halfway across the room. She was beginning to think she was reaching the point of obsession. After all, she barely saw Harry and Ron more than once each day, and, though she did miss them, she thought about them fairly infrequently with Draco around.

"Hermione? Are you still with us?" The teacher addressed her, snapping her out of her deep thought, causing her to blush deeply.

"Yes, sorry." she said, flustered. The teacher looked at her, baffled by the lack of concentration that was so out of character.

"I was only saying that you and Draco need to go to the head teacher at once, he wants to speak with you."

"Oh," Hermione uttered, gathering her things while glancing at Draco, who was returning her look of bewilderment. They left together, followed by the suspicious stares of their classmates.

* * *

Hermione cleared her throat, stepping further into the small office. "You wanted to see us, sir." she said. The head turned around and gestured them in.

"Yes, I did." he said, his elderly features softening with his smile. He surveyed them silently, apparently not willing to speak.

"And why was that?" Draco enquired impatiently after the long pause.

"I was pleased with the result of our little arrangement, I believe it worked well for you, Mr. Malfoy." he said, with a slightly raised voice. "Only, I have noticed that you are both continuing with the conditions I organised last week, when I explicitly said that it would be for a week only, unless I told you otherwise. I do not appreciate you defying me in this unusual and rather masochistic way, either of you. I may, unknown to you, have had reasons for you to only be kept together for a week and I had presumed you would be eager to be apart once that week had been over. Perhaps it is my own fault for jumping to conclusions, but I seem to remember you, Mr. Malfoy, saying that you two 'despise each other'. So, from now on, you are not to be seen together – no exceptions."

Draco and Hermione stood before him, aghast. He spoke coldly, which was shocking to both of them, as he was always a jolly man, and never scolding. Then there was the prospect of their forced separation, which would be much more painful for both than the idea of being forced together had been a week before.

"Sir, I'm sorry but that isn't going to happen. Malfoy and I have become… close - closer than you can imagine - and you will find that keeping us apart will be considerably harder than putting us together was, much like – well, like magnets. We have learnt so much from each other, and separating us will only ruin all of that. I would rather be in detention for a _year_ than part from him." she stated boldly. Draco looked at her proudly, amazed that she spoke up against a teacher. The head's cold gaze split into a beam.

"It seems my humble plan has succeeded after all. I apologise for my little façade, but I believe it was necessary. It appears that not only has your behaviour improved twofold since last week, Draco, but you, Hermione, have proved that your priorities are in the right place. You have put your loyalty to your friends before your rather religious following of the rules, which is, I am sure, pleasing to not only me, but Mr. Malfoy here also." Hermione looked at Draco to see him smirking crookedly. "Thank you for all your cooperation, I will not speak of this matter again." the head said, smiling upon them both again and dismissing them with a wave of a hand. They left, and as soon as they were outside, Draco spoke.

"Only a year's worth of detention? Is that it?" he said, ducking as she aimed a hit at him.

"You are such a git." Hermione returned.

"Yep, but you're the one dating me. So which of us is more the idiot?" he said, smiling. He hugged her, holding her close for a long time. After a while Hermione whispered, pouting, but struggling not to smile,

"Definitely you."

* * *

"Hermione! Hermione!" Harry came rushing over to her as she stood outside with Draco at break.

"Harry? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. He shook his head, out of breath from running over.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just needed to tell you, before I change my mind." he babbled.

"Harry, calm down, you're not making sense. Before changing your mind about what?"

"Ginny. I'm going to ask her out. I can't bear it anymore – even if she says no, I can't just do nothing. I wanted to tell you so that I couldn't chicken out – I know you'll keep bugging me if I don't do it – so all I'm really worried about now is Ron." he said, speaking extremely fast.

"Oh, thank _goodness_ , you're finally going to do something. I've only been waiting a couple of YEARS!" Hermione said loudly. Harry was taken aback.

"D'you think she'll say yes?" he said hopefully, resembling a puppy whining for a treat.

"Well if Harry Potter can't get the girl, what hope is there for the rest of us?" Draco said dryly.

"I wasn't asking you, Malfoy." Harry retorted, the old rivalry reappearing.

"I'm positive she will Harry. And as for Ron… he'll get over it." she assured him quickly. He smiled, realising that he gave her the exact same reassurance about Draco.

"No, he'd say 'about time too'." said a voice. Harry and Hermione turned to see Ron, laughing. "She's been going on about you for _ages_ now mate. It gets a bit tedious. Do it, and get it over with. Maybe then she'll shut up." he said begrudgingly, though there was a twinkle in his eye that showed his hidden happiness for his best friend. Hermione beamed at him as Harry pulled him into a rather manly hug. The black haired boy dashed away the next second, and didn't return for the remainder of break.

* * *

 **So, it's not much, but you'll get another update very soon. I think it will have to be the day after tomorrow because I'll be busy with New Year's Eve tomorrow. So, as I will not see you again, Happy New Year! Thank you all so much for the support, it's been amazing. See you in 2016!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: As promised, I'm here with another chapter. Here's number 16! Enjoy.  
JK Rowling... Harry Potter... not me... **

* * *

By lunch, it was easy to tell that Hermione was worried. That was the simple part. Her hands were always moving and fiddling, and she didn't even touch her food when they got to canteen. She didn't speak up as she normally did, and her mind was obviously preoccupied. So, Draco immediately knew that something was making her anxious, he just had to find out what.

"Hey," he said gently, bringing a hand to her shoulder. She looked at him as if she had only been half aware that he was there. "What is it?"

"What's what? I don't know what you mean." she replied, her voice squeakily high.

"The fiddling and the silence and that look in your eyes – you think I haven't noticed?" She sighed shortly.

"Ok. It's about Harry." Hermione admitted.

"Oh, _poor_ Harry."

"You asked!" Hermione snapped.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm still unused to not hating him." Draco muttered darkly. "What about Harry?"

"I haven't seen him since break, and nor has Ron – I asked him just now, and he wasn't in his lessons either." Draco opened his mouth to mention Ginny, but Hermione beat him to it. "At first, I thought he'd be with Ginny, but…" she tailed off, pointing off to a table close to them. Draco looked, and saw Ginny sitting with a group of girls, looking glum.

"So… what?" Draco asked, turning back to Hermione. A crease had formed between her eyebrows as she thought, and then shook her head.

"I don't know. I really don't."

"Well, he's got to be somewhere. Come on." They got up, and as they did so, Ginny's eyes darted up and met Hermione's. She looked away quickly, shifting in her seat so that her red locks covered her face.

* * *

They had tried every corridor, every corner of the courtyards, every inch of the canteen, and Harry was nowhere to be seen. They had recruited a group of Draco's rather reluctant friends, but to no avail. But there was one last place to look.

"Seriously?" Draco questioned, as they stood outside the toilets. "You think he's in _there_?" Hermione shrugged.

"That's the only place left, Draco." she pointed out.

"Fine. You guys stay out here." he ordered Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, who were the only three who had stayed that long to help. Hermione nodded encouragingly and Draco pushed open the door. It shut behind him slowly, and he paused just inside. A small boy was washing his hands, and he squeaked comically when he saw Draco. Amused, Draco approached him and murmured, in his most threatening voice,

"Is anyone else in here?" The boy was practically trembling as he shook his head.

"No one. All the cubicles are empty, and that one's out of order." he said, and Draco wasn't sure if his voice was that high naturally. He dashed away, his hands still covered in soap suds and dripping wet.

Draco looked at the cubicle the boy had mentioned, and he chuckled. The sign, written on plain paper, did say 'out of order' in thick, black pen, but was scruffy, and was jammed into the side of the door instead of stuck there. Draco walked up to it and knocked twice.

"Potter, come on out. The game's up – I know you're in there." he said strongly. There was a pause, and some shuffling from inside, and then the door opened slightly. Round glasses poked around the side, and the boy spoke.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here? Leave me alone, I'm really not in the mood." His eyes weren't red, so he hadn't been crying, but his hair was sticking up more than usual and his glasses were smudged.

"Why does _everyone_ think I'm going to give up as soon as they tell me to? I'm far too stubborn for that!" he cried, sticking a foot in front of the door so the Harry couldn't close it on him. "Hermione's worried sick. She wants to know what happened, and so does Weasley, apparently." Harry looked guiltily around.

"There's nothing they can do to help." he said decidedly.

"This is Hermione we're talking about, she'll find something." Draco pressed, and finally, Harry gave in. He opened the door and stepped out, and Draco followed him out of the bathroom. Hermione leapt at Harry and hugged him, questions streaming out of her mouth. Draco saw that in his absence, his three friends had disappeared, and Ron had arrived and was waiting to hear the story.

"Hermione, give him a second." Ron chuckled weakly.

"Sorry, Harry." she apologised. She stepped back, and Harry looked around at them all. Three expectant faces stared back.

"So, what did Ginny say?" Ron offered helpfully.

"She said… no." Harry revealed dejectedly.

" _What!_ " Hermione and Ron both shouted.

"I don't understand, she does like you Harry, I swear!" Ron insisted.

"No, she doesn't. When I asked her she was so embarrassed and I felt so bad for humiliating her. I don't think I can ever talk to her again, and she'll never talk to me." Harry grumbled.

"Harry. There is an explanation for this, there must be –" Hermione stopped talking as Harry turned pale. Slowly, colour filled his face until he was bright red. They all followed his eyes to see Ginny walking past, her face an equally obvious scarlet.

"Harry, wait here." Hermione said quickly, turning and running after Ginny the next second.

"Ginny! Ginny!" she called over the sea of students. "GINEVRA!" she roared, so that half of the crowd moved to the edge of the corridor in fright. Ginny turned around at the sound of her full name.

"Hermione, I don't need to hear it. I know what you're going to say." she said quietly, ignoring the stares coming from all around her.

"Why, Ginny?" Hermione pleaded anyway, desperate to get an answer.

"I don't like Harry Potter!" she whispered harshly.

"Don't lie to me. You've almost admitted it so many times, let alone how frequently you admit it with your actions. Why did you say no, Ginny?" Hermione persisted. Ginny bit her lip.

"Think of what I'd be if I were his girlfriend. Think of the talk, the gossip. I don't want that. I don't want to be known for who my boyfriend is, or hated for it either. He's a year older than me, and that's enough scandal to begin with! I don't think I could cope." she allowed and Hermione smiled kindly.

"You forget who you're talking to, and who her boyfriend is. Trust me, after the initial onslaught of talk, it's not so bad. And with Harry, it'll be worth it. He really cares about you, you know, Ginny? So you need to stop caring about what people think and follow your heart. What does it tell you to do right now?"

"Jump into his arms and do something I'll regret." She smiled, and her eyes were suddenly light again.

"So go do it." Hermione whispered, beaming. Ginny hugged her and walked back in the direction she had come. Hermione followed at a distance, and watched as Ginny tapped Harry on the shoulder. The boy had a moment for surprise and confusion to flash across his face before Ginny had kissed him. Hermione laughed joyously as Ron turned his head in mild disgust. The couple parted, grinning like Cheshire cats. Soon, Harry came over to her.

"Thanks, Hermione. You really are the best, you know that?" he said. She took his hand and squeezed it.

"You deserve it, Harry. All of it. You may not think so, but you do." Hermione replied gently. Harry grinned at her and she grinned back, in the way they would have done when they were younger and in their first years at high school. As Harry returned to Ginny, Draco approached.

"You really would do anything for him, wouldn't you?" He spoke coldly, dully.

"Yes. He means a lot to me." Hermione replied honestly, conscious of the change in his conduct.

"I doubt you'd do the same for anyone else." Draco commented, still emotionless.

"What are you suggesting?" Hermione cried, backing away slightly. "You think, after all that's happened, that I care about someone else more than I care about you?"

"How can I know?" he spat. He may as well have shouted, his voice was so sharp, and the sound of it cut through her like a knife. Suddenly, it seemed to Hermione that she was in a dream. This couldn't be happening. But it was.

"How can you _know?_ " she repeated. "My word isn't enough?"

"How can I know, Hermione? Or is there no way of knowing?"

"Have you not been here the whole time? Harry adores Ginny, and I adore you. No one else! Draco, you're letting the old you take control, the fake you. Bring the _real_ Malfoy back." she begged.

"How can I know?" he insisted again, unrelenting. The whole group was staring at them both now, shocked and confused.

"Maybe the fact I'm in love with you!" she screamed. All was silence, apart from Ron, spluttering uncontrollably.

"Oh." Draco said simply. And suddenly, he was back. Heartbreakingly beautiful, impossibly gracious, and still afraid.

"Oh, indeed." she muttered. "Take some time, Draco. Sort yourself out. I'll still be here, when you work out if you can trust me or not."

"So that's it. That's the end." Draco stated, desperately hoping for her to disagree.

"No, we've not stopped yet. We're just on pause, until you can unjam the disk, and let the story continue." she told him, not ready to let go, but still knowing that he needed to trust her. She thought he had, but now, everything had changed.

So, as he walked one way, she, and her three friends, went the other.

* * *

 **Don't worry! That's not the end - I wouldn't be so mean. Only a few chapters left, though, maybe 3 (?) so we are very very close. Review... pretty please? Updates will be normal again now. See you soon! Mwah!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey! I've got a pretty long, very dramatic chapter for you here. I wasn't too happy with last chapter, so I spent ages on this one trying to make it exactly how I wanted it. I hope it makes a difference. Enjoy!  
JK Rowling owns all the stuff you recognise, which is basically just the characters. **

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _So, as he walked one way, she, and her three friends, went the other._

* * *

"Can't you just talk to her, mate?"

"She's not angry at you, believe me!"

"This whole thing is making you so miserable, but you're not even trying to sort it out!"

The group of friends around Draco bombarded him with suggestions and advice, but none held any meaning to him. He was well and truly stuck, and nothing seemed likely to help him now. It was some consolation to him that Hermione, who presently stood on the opposite side of the school courtyard, looked somewhat out of sorts too, but he knew it was nothing to what he felt.

It was his fault. He wasn't quite sure what had come over him, but it had ended in Hermione walking away and leaving him behind. For that he could never forgive himself. He remembered it clearly: his eyes being fixed on Harry and Hermione talking in lowered voices, them grinning at each other fondly, all rationality escaping his head. Then suddenly he was shouting at her, the only words going through his head the same as the words he kept repeating forcefully – _how can I know?_

Betrayal. Lies. Trust. Truth. All words that lost meaning to him, merging into one desperate, pained moment.

Gone, all of a sudden. She had said something, and his head had cleared like fog lifting on a winter's day. She had said that she loved him. That made sense, seeing as he loved her too. Hearing those words gave him a new clarity that was anything but natural, and yet was still right. He loved her. Of course he did. Perhaps no one would believe him but her – but what would that matter?

Now there was only the not-so-small problem at hand. Pansy, who had become a relatively good friend of Hermione over the past week, had been constantly flitting back and forth between the two of them, trying to convince one to give in. But it wasn't so simple. After all, how do you prove to someone that you trust them? Anything Draco might say sounded pathetic in his head, and he still hadn't come up with a thing, despite it being a whole day later, so what was the point?

He got up, completely ignoring whatever poor suggestion Crabbe was grumbling. He could have been talking about what was for lunch for all Draco cared right now. Admittedly, it was Crabbe, so it was more likely that he _was_ talking about food. Regardless, Draco walked off, yearning for some quiet that would finally (make that hopefully) allow him to think.

"Leave him." Blaise said to Pansy, as she moved to follow him with a distressed look. She paused, watching him walk away, and then nodded.

"We have to do something, Blaise. If they can't sort this out for themselves, then we need to take matters into our hands." she said determinedly.

"Call in the troops." Blaise said quietly in agreement, taking her hand and eyeing the retreating figure of his best friend.

* * *

Blaise's room, though large, still struggled to accommodate for the seven teenagers now packed on the floor - Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Ron, Harry and Ginny. They made an odd team, but they were all willing to put past rivalries behind them for the sake of their two troubled friends.

The school week was now over, and they had all agreed that the weekend would have to be used to their advantage. Their main aim was only to get Draco and Hermione to talk – after that, they were sure that the couple would be able to sort things out themselves.

"That sounds like a plan." Blaise concluded confidently, looking around at them all. "Anyone have any queries? It's pretty simple, I'll send the text 'by accident' and then make my excuses, and that'll be that. Agreed?" There was a murmur of approval around the room.

"Neither of them can blame us either, can they? It will all look like a fortunate mistake." Ginny added, looking pleased.

"Exactly," said Harry, "Hermione'll never guess we're involved. And Malfoy will be too relieved to be angry, even at me or Ron." Ron laughed shortly.

"Awesome. See you on Monday everyone. Keep your fingers crossed…" Blaise said, his room beginning to empty as everyone left.

* * *

By some stroke of luck, none of Draco's friends had appeared after school to pester him. Actually, he hadn't seen _any_ of them leaving, not even Blaise. To his surprise, he had spotted Hermione, also completely alone, not a Potter or Weasel in sight. For a minute he contemplated going over and talking to her, but her words rang through his head: _"Take some time, Draco."_ No, he wasn't welcome there just now.

So he walked home, forcing all thought from his head, concentrating on the pattern of the paving stones and the hum of each car as it passed him by.

By the time he reached his house, he wanted nothing more than to sleep. That way, he wouldn't be able to feel or think, and he would only be visited by the harmlessness of a dream. He quickly ate something and had a shower, his muscles relaxing one by one, taking away the strain on his neck and back, then immediately went to bed. He must have been exhausted, for he had an unusually uninterrupted sleep.

When he woke, the sky outside was dusky and orange-pink, the scattered strands of cloud immobile over the rooftops of houses. He stood at the window for a while, surrounded by the beauty of the sunrise, rather than subjecting himself to a head full of thoughts. When he finally broke his gaze away from the outside, he slowly got changed, in no rush to anything now that it was the weekend. His mother was already downstairs, wearing a silk dressing gown and making herself a cup of coffee. He smiled at her as a greeting, and picked up an apple, his appetite practically non-existent.

A few hours later, he was sat on his bed, flicking through channel after channel on the TV in his room, not really seeing their content, just obsessing over the consistent tapping of his finger on the remote. The doorbell rang sharply, and he was suddenly alert. He sprang up and strode to the spare bedroom, which faced out onto the driveway. He looked out, expecting to see Blaise, or Blaise's mother, or Pansy, or maybe even Hermione, this last possibility coming with a twinge of hope. Instead, what he saw brought the breath out of him, and made his legs buckle under him. He sat on the floor with his head against the wall and his breathing suddenly rapid. His eyes closed as the memories came.

 **Flashback:**

 _A young teenager peeks around the corner of a door, a flash of light blonde hair covering half of his face. He watches as the two adults in the living room, his mother and father, talk stiffly, she sitting in an armchair, while he paces in front of her. He winces as she begins shouting.  
_ " _Don't deny it, Lucius, you've been cheating on me! I'm not blind, and I'm certainly not as stupid as you seem to think I am! How could you do that to me – or Draco?" the woman exclaims hysterically.  
_ " _Narcissa, these accusations are ridiculous. You have no proof, and besides, by suggesting such things,_ you _are the one putting his future in jeopardy! Now stop screaming, or you'll wake him and then how will we explain ourselves?" he speaks calmly and authoritatively.  
_ " _I'll tell him the truth, Lucius, despite how much you would like to lie to your own child!" she returns. "You will leave in the morning. Go back to your other woman, I'm sure she'll be grateful for your money – it's not like she actually loves you." her face falters, and for a fraction of a second, the pain she is feeling is visible.  
_ " _And what will you do? Stay here with that useless child and only yourself for company? You know you won't manage." he sneers, but gets no reply. The boy backs away, unable to take any more. Not a moment after he has returned to his bed, the woman walks in, and watches him fondly for a moment. He keeps his breathing even, pretending to be asleep.  
_ " _We will manage, baby. I'll make sure we do." she promises under her breath. She leaves silently._

 **(End Flashback)**

He looked so out of place now. His hair had been cut much shorter, only at shoulder length, but besides that, nothing had changed. He still wore his dark suit and cloak, and still carried his cane in his gloved hands. But he no longer belonged. It was as if the very house was repulsed by him, and had changed ever so slightly so that if he ever returned, he would never be back for good.

Draco rose again and stared down, taking in the face of his father, the face he hadn't seen for years, and yet was plastered into his head so thoroughly that one look made all of the hatred and anger resurface. The door must have opened, for he stepped inside without a word. Draco, knowing his mother must be falling apart at this very moment, rushed downstairs. He stopped outside the living room as he heard a voice.

"Aren't you going to offer me a seat, Narcissa?" A chill ran through Draco. After all this time, he had stepped in here and was already speaking like he was a king.

"I'm sure you can stand. You won't be here long, anyway." said his mother calmly. A new surge of pride overcame Draco, and he scolded himself for thinking that she would be weak in the presence of her ex-husband. Draco peered around the door, and in that moment he was twelve again, watching his parents' relationship fall apart.

"You loved me, didn't you?" The man spoke, and despite his words, his voice was emotionless, verging on cold.

"I did, once. But seeing the man you turned into, I can't think why. You don't deserve love, and I doubt you got it either, with _her_." Narcissa Malfoy stood regally, staring him down, unintimidated by his superior manner.

"I see." he replied simply. He looked surprised to find her so strong and so opposed to him. Draco stepped into the room and took his place behind his mother, who looked up at him. He twitched his eyebrow in question. She smiled and nodded slightly, understanding him perfectly and ensuring him that she was fine.

"Draco!" Lucius Malfoy said, after watching their interaction with interest. "Come and greet your father!" Draco didn't move, apart from placing his hands on his mother's shoulders.

"I have no father. He is dead to me, and I couldn't love a person any less." he said. The man's jaw set and his nostrils flared. As a boy, this reaction alone would have immensely frightened Draco, but he wasn't a boy any more.

"You can see by now that you are not welcome here." said Draco's mother forcefully. "It would be better for everyone if you leave now, and never come back. It is evident that we can live without you, as we have so happily for years now, so your absence once again will not affect us, despite what you would like to think. Goodbye, Lucius." she said, and it was so like an order that Lucius Malfoy didn't object as she moved out of the room and to the front door. When it had shut, and he was finally gone, she breathed out extensively, closing her eyes. Draco was sat on the stairs with his elbows on his knees, running his fingers through his hair. She approached him and kissed the top of his head.

"Why was he here?" Draco asked, confused.

"I don't know. I suspect his 'lover' abandoned him, after taking all the money she wanted. But I don't care. All that matters is that he saw that we don't need him, and that he's gone now. He won't come back again – that I'm sure of. He knows now that we _can_ manage without him." she assured him.

"Of course we can. After all, you promised we would." Draco reminded her. She smiled down at him lovingly, and placed another kiss on his head.

* * *

 **I really hope you enjoyed that. It was so exciting to write, so if it was exciting to read I'll be really happy. Please review, you've only got a few chapters of this story left to do so! In the next one, we'll find out what exactly Blaise's plan is and Hermione and Draco will definitely be reunited, I promise. I look forward to sharing it with you! See you in the next one!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey! I bring good news and bad news. I have a long update (yay!) but it will also be the last of this story (whaaaaat?) so I really hope you enjoy. All will end happily, don't worry.  
JK Rowling owns all the stuff.  
**

* * *

Last Chapter:

 _"Of course we can. After all, you promised we would." Draco reminded her. She smiled down at him lovingly, and placed another kiss on his head._

* * *

Draco returned upstairs to his room to find a text from Blaise. It contained only an address, with no explanation and no other message. Though the street name was familiar, Draco couldn't figure out who it belonged to, so he replied:

 _Hey, Blaise, what's this about?_

He put on some music, and sat on the edge of his bed. The reply came soon enough.

 _Oops, sorry Draco. That was meant for Pansy. It's Hermione's address, Pansy wanted to check on her over the weekend. Before you ask, I got it off Harry. Forget about it._

That explained it. Draco had been to Hermione's house once, to pick her up for Blaise's party, but he'd forgotten her full address – only the name of the street had stuck in his head. Ignoring Blaise's last words, Draco sent another message.

 _How did you get 'Pansy' and 'Draco' mixed up? They don't exactly start with letters that are close together, do they?_

The reply took longer this time, and Draco was able to listen to a whole song before he got an answer. On the other side of the conversation, Blaise and Pansy were sitting in Blaise's bedroom, ready to tackle any incoming questions from Draco.

"Do you think he's buying it?" Pansy asked anxiously.

"He's suspicious, I know that. He's asking how I got your names mixed up, but that's an easy one."

"I really hope this works, Blaise." she said.

"Me too. We've given him the bait, let's just hope he gets desperate enough to take it." he replied, tapping out a message.

 _Draco, you know you and Pansy are both in my Favourites, I must have accidentally hit your name instead of hers. No big deal._

Another question came with the reply.

 _Alright, I'll give you that. So how did you happen to have Harry's number?_

Blaise sighed. "Too easy, too easy." he muttered as he sent another text back.

 _Did it ever occur to you that Harry and I may be better friends than you thought we were, or thought we should be, for that matter? Your enemies aren't always my enemies, Draco. Anyway, Pansy wanted something, so I made it my mission to find a way of getting it for her. That's what a relationship's about, finding ways to make the other person happy, no matter what the personal sacrifice. You don't let them remain miserable just because that's how you're feeling._

It was times like this that made Draco hate his best friend, but in the most affectionate way. His completely unsubtle accusations about Draco and Hermione cut deep, so deep that only Blaise could have said it. They had known each other long enough that they could speak their minds and still retain the immense respect they had for each other.

Draco couldn't believe he'd been so selfish. Granted, he'd always been selfish, it was just part of his nature, but he thought Hermione had been the one to change that - he thought he'd found someone that he would always put first. And once again he found himself returning to that moment, that fateful moment, when he had ruined everything. He'd let that selfish side dominate, but because of it he hadn't gained anything, only lost.

All of the thoughts that he'd been repressing hit him. The flashbacks were no longer singular moments, but streams of memories flowing into each other, showing him every moment he could ever remember that had caused an extreme emotion, whether it be happiness, fear, sadness, anger, loneliness, love.

He rose and tried to find the door of his room in his overwhelming blindness. He stumbled around as if in a drunk stupor until he knew he was at the top of the stairs. He took each step like it was a mountain, concentrating impossibly hard on every single one as memory after memory tried to distract him. Somehow, in a short judicious moment, he managed to pull on his coat and call to his mother that he was going out.

The fresh chill of the late morning air sharpened his senses and cleared his head, bringing back normality. He turned up the collar on his coat, and began walking, apparently aimlessly, revelling in the overdue escape from his house.

"Blaise! Blaise, I think we've done it!" Pansy cried excitedly, looking out of the window of his bedroom onto the street below and watching Draco walk across the road.

"What d'you mean?" Blaise asked, walking over to the window. Pansy pointed and Blaise grinned, kissing her on the cheek and muttering, "I do believe we have."

* * *

He could have been walking for hours, or it could have been a few minutes, but when Draco finally stopped and looked around, he knew, after all that had happened, that he was in the right place. He looked down at the address that Blaise had sent him, already knowing that the name of the street would match the one in the text.

He walked up the path of the house, recognising the scruffy yet homely front garden and the dark green door. His hand reached for the doorbell, and as it rang he was caught between hopefulness and confusion as to what he was doing there. He was saved from his inner conflict by the door opening, revealing a woman, who was undoubtedly Hermione's mother. Her hair curled in the same way as her daughter's, framing her face with tight ringlets; the corners of her eyes wrinkled with her expectant smile at seeing this stranger at her doorstep. She was quite thin, and her clothes were motherly, and suited her well. Her hands were delicate and graceful like Draco's mother's, but, unlike Narcissa's, they were rough and worn from years of hard work.

"Hello." she spoke, and though she didn't know him, her voice was warm and welcoming.

"Hi." Draco said slowly, pausing for moment. "My name is Draco Malfoy, I go to school with Hermione." A shadow, cast on the wall by the stairs, caught his attention and Hermione's figure peered around the edge of the bannister, eyes wide with shock. She turned back to disappear into a room. Mrs. Granger was looking at him carefully, trying to figure out how she knew him, or was supposed to know him.

"I'm Hermione's boyfriend." he added, the words still sitting happily on his lips. He prayed for her to finally recognise the name. _Had Hermione not told them?_ He thought, in a sudden panic. Hermione's retreating footsteps upstairs had paused. She was listening too.

"Oh of course! Yes, we've heard all about you – I'm so sorry that I didn't recognise the name! Come in, come in!" she ushered him inside and he didn't refuse. He removed his coat and put it over his arm, only to have it taken off him and hung up on the end of the bannister.

"Mrs. Granger –"

"Call me Jean, please." she insisted. ***see A/N at the end.**

"Jean, I really wasn't planning on intruding for very long. I just wanted to talk to Hermione for a moment." he said apologetically.

"Nonsense! You're not intruding at all. Have you eaten yet?" she asked. Draco shook his head. "Well, you must stay for lunch – it's just about ready. No, it's no trouble. I insist." she urged, ignoring his attempt at politely declining, still smiling at him.

"As long as that's ok with Hermione." he said unsurely.

"Of course you can stay." Hermione said, standing above them on the stairs. Draco's head filled with memories of the night of Blaise's birthday, all of which began with Hermione walking down the very same stairs. She stood there now, with a hint of confusion in her eyes, but with an undeniably sincere smile.

"Hmph. Not sulking anymore?" Mrs. Granger asked her daughter, raising her eyebrows.

"Mum!" Hermione cried exasperatedly.

"She's been so grumpy for a few days now. I doubt you would know anything about that." Hermione's mother whispered rather loudly, so that Hermione could still clearly hear her. Draco trained his eyes back onto Hermione, who was wincing, directing a look of pleading towards her mother. She saw him watching her and granted him a wry smile in return for the cautious one he sent her.

"Right, through here, Draco." Mrs. Granger said, leading him through to a room that acted as a dining room and a living room. A dining table with four chairs around it stood to his left, and a faded red sofa and two cream chairs were on his left, a TV placed in the corner. Draco smiled. It may have been small – miniscule in comparison to his house – but it was cosy and loving, not empty and cold, as he had always thought his house was.

"You're Draco, I hear." said a man, standing up from the sofa. Draco shook his outstretched hand and nodded. This was Hermione's father. Facially, he was more similar to his daughter than the mother was, but his thinning hair was straight. Draco saw the same eyes behind the glasses, and the same nose, even the same angular jaw and high cheekbones.

"And you must be Mr. Granger. It's a pleasure, sir." Draco replied formally. The man chuckled.

"If you're calling my wife Jean, then you'd better call me Martin, young man… 'Sir'…" he chortled, patting Draco on the back in a friendly way. He gestured to a seat at the table and Draco took it. Hermione sat down next to him, and Mr. Granger sat opposite her, after laying out plates for each of them. A minute later, Mrs. Granger entered, carrying a pot of something, which was omitting a heavenly smell.

Once the meal, a lamb stew, had been served out, Hermione's parents wasted no time making Draco feel comfortable. They talked constantly, telling stories from Hermione's childhood (evoking many blushes from her), asking Draco about himself, and talking about their jobs, as they were both dentists. Draco admired their relationship greatly; they were perfectly happy with each other, even after what must have been years of marriage.

While the two were discussing whether it was Mrs. Scott or Mrs. Davies who had almost swallowed her gold tooth, Draco found himself once again glancing around the house with interest. Hermione's life was almost set out in front of him; there were pictures of her everywhere. Some were recent, but in the majority she was around five and grinning madly, enjoying herself infinitely more than Draco thought was possible. Eventually, Hermione noticed his gaze and spoke.

"It's not much, compared to what you have." she said humbly.

"It's so _you_ … all of it. I love it." he replied quietly, and she smiled, looking around also.

"Well, never mind if it was Mrs. Scott," Mrs. Granger suddenly snapped, sounding irritated.

"You know, you're right, dear, I think it _was_ Mrs. Davies…" Mr. Granger backtracked hastily, doing his best to defuse the problem he'd caused. He shot Draco a look, and Hermione let out a laugh at the desperate expression on his face.

"That was lovely, Mrs.G- Jean. Thank you." Draco interrupted them quickly, putting on his most sincere voice. Mrs. Granger beamed at him, and Mr. Granger nodded in relieved approval.

"It was a pleasure, Draco. You must come again some time, we'd love to see you." she said kindly. She began collecting up the plates, but Draco rose to stop her.

"No, no, let me." he offered.

" _You_ could learn a few things from him, Martin." she said. Mr. Granger, who had been sharing exasperated looks with Hermione, dropped his childish grin and nodded, muttering an inconceivable "mhmm". Draco left and re-entered, having put the plates in the kitchen.

"I really should be going now." he said, and Hermione stood up, shooting him a meaningful look. Puzzled, Draco continued, "Jean, Martin, it's been so nice to meet you." Mrs. Granger stood up too, smiling.

"I'll see you out then Draco." Hermione said loudly, looking at her mother. Mrs. Granger, naturally conscious of her daughter's every word, took her seat again. Hermione walked out into the hallway.

"We should talk." she muttered as she passed Draco, and he followed instinctively, even as nerves flared up inside him at her words.

Once they were alone in the hall, silence settled. Hermione was looking straight at Draco, her eyes searching for answers to the questions flicking around in her head.

"Why are you here?" she whispered, finally finding the words to break the eerie stillness between them.

"To talk to you. I wasn't lying to your mother, I only wanted to talk to you." he kept his voice low, but she could hear him perfectly. Both clung to the others' words, hearts beating fast in their chests.

"So talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking, and what you've been thinking for the last few days. Tell me something, Draco, I want to know what's going on in you head." she pleaded, struggling to be satisfied with his words.

"A lot. A lot's been going on in my head. I blame myself for everything that's happened, and, naturally, I've been wanting to change that from the second you turned your back." he said.

"I shouldn't have done that, it was unbelievably stupid of me. I told myself – I told you – I would be there for you. But when you needed me to reassure you, when I should have shown you that you _can_ trust me, I abandoned you." she murmured sorrowfully.

"No, Hermione. It was entirely me, you were right to do what you did – as usual. I'm always so selfish… so possessive, and it only ever ends up in hurting someone, and hurting me. With you, it all applies, but with even greater effect. As soon as I thought I might lose you, nothing else mattered. You see? In that moment, to me you were gone, and so I turned into the person I was when you weren't there. The 'old Draco', as you call him." His sincerity was strangely amplified by his whisper, and Hermione couldn't stop simply staring at him wordlessly.

"And as for what I've been thinking these past few days…" he continued. "All I've been _able_ to think about is how I could make it up to you. You said I should take some time, but time never bothered me, or affected me, all I needed was some kind of confirmation that there was a chance that you might forgive me. You said I should sort myself out, but you _make_ me 'myself', so all I needed was to find a way to get you back. Just tell me, Hermione, is there any chance…?" he tailed off, studying her face frantically. After a moment, it broke out into a smile before him.

"Any chance of getting me back? No – but that's only because you never lost me. I didn't love you for a day, Draco. And if you blame yourself for anything, let it be that – blame yourself for the fact I fell in love with you." It took a second for realisation to hit Draco, but when it did, two steps allowed him to reach her and place one hand on her cheek, one on her shoulder. She, surprised by his advance, had held her hands up to his chest, trembling very slightly. But she still leant into him naturally, and when their eyes met, they were only inches apart.

"One more thing." Draco said slowly, the warmth of his breath washing over her. She didn't dare move or speak, she just blinked up at him, waiting. "I didn't have to work out if I could trust you, because I know I can, more than anyone. But I didn't know how to make you see that, and I still don't think I can." The long breath he took stuttered nervously, but he ignored it.

"There was one thing I kept coming up with. One thing I couldn't shake off. It may be long overdue, but..." he paused, closing his eyes momentarily and then refocusing on her, with more surety. "I love you too, Hermione Granger." Slowly, blissfully, the gap between them closed and they were enveloped in one sweet, true kiss.

When he left, he felt it. For the first time, he really felt it. It pulled against his every step, more and more the further away he got from her. That invisible force. It tugged at the centre of his chest, and he yearned to go back to her. But he would be with her again soon. After all, when he left, his heart remained with her, and hers with him.

So they would never _really_ be apart.

* * *

 **The END! Thank you so so so so so so much for all the love you've given me for this story, especially the regular reviewers - you know who you are :) - and I'm so happy that people have enjoyed. It's been a rollercoaster of excitement and procrastination but I finally got there. I really hope you enjoyed this final chapter, and indeed the whole story. I'd love it if you followed me as an author, I have a ton of other ideas in this little head. At the moment there is another Dramione story in the making and also a finished Divergent one-shot if that is your kind of thing. I look forward to maybe seeing you again in the future! Leave a review! It's your last chance!**

 ***We don't know Hermione's parents names, so I made Jean and Martin up (Jean from Hermione's middle name).**


End file.
